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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it 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 asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“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.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”