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First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers 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

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational 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. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

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