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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning 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

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences 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 personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”