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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed 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

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling 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 gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”