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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an advertising revolution, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed 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 crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

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

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”