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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

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 burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots 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”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad 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 engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”