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First identified more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, 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 leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

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

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on 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 individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”