🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending 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.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”