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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do 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 send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels 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 people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”