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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, 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 confirmed. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“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 discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence 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 … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”