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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

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 viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”