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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”