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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”