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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“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.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. In the UK, advertising income for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with numerous influencers 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’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”