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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences 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, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

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

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. 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.”