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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever 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 given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, 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 heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? 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.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability 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: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”