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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 obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim 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 broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media 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 personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”