Foreword
The wonderful world of TikTok comes back at us this week with more content as always to take in. Trend formats and inside jokes on the platform are continuing to allow brands to integrate into the cultural capital of TikTok. This week natural formats have revealed themselves to stay true to themes of self deprecation and sarcasm on the platform, all while utilizing new filters and moves to keep formats forever adapting. Join us as we explore through the trends and popular culture that surround the app every week, and how you can utilize it to best engage with your audience.
The Trends
#1 Trauma in humor
103.9k videos on the sound
TikTok users have always been self deprecating, but this trend has originated out of dealing with trauma using humor. One TikTok user started the trend and others found it so funny that they decided to replicate it with their own stories. Humor at the highest level pushes the limits of what is right to joke about and it seems that TikTok users are pioneering it to new heights with trends like these.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands can joke about poor brand moments that happened in the past. It has to come from a place of pure self deprecation for it to work so many businesses won’t be wanting to utilize this one.
#2 Hey isn’t this easy
197.3k videos on the sound
Users are joking about annoying things that others done either to wrong them or simply be irritating. The creator will phrase how easy it is to not do whichever action someone has done to wrong them. A lot of the time these are vulnerable topics using self deprecation like seen in the first trend that creators often utilize on the platform because it feels real.
Examples:
Applicability:
For this trend brands can utilize it to roast competitors in a joking manner, for example an ice cream place could advertise against McDonalds for always having their ice cream machines broken.
#3 Curtis gtfo
26.3k videos on the sound
In this trend users are reflecting on times when they are talking to someone they are interested in or is important to talk to, when one of their friends or relatives walk in who causes a large distraction. Some videos have been about girls talking to guys when their attractive moms walk in, others have been about friends walking in during another persons exam. There’s a million funny (not literally) scenarios that users are thinking of for this trend so we suggest you check out the examples below.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands can use this for annoying things that they don’t want going into their establishments, definitely don’t delineate groups of people unless related to competitors. For example Popeyes could say they never want Chick Fil A moving in next door.
#4 Ironic but truthful
23.3k videos on the sound
A new popular audio has emerged and although this sound spans a wide range of topics, a majority of the videos under the sound pertain to users giving ironic but truthful statements to viewers. Some would call it hard truths and statements; these make you think with some perspective about what is happening in the world. This humor ties into sarcasm in dealing with what is sometimes tough news, but for the most part light hearted.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to joke about small flaws they have in their business or extremely odd/funny office experiences.
#5 Dance
72.5k videos on the sound
We always seem to have at least one new dance trend every seven days, and this week is no different. The dance here involves a cross body move and is set to “Bestie” by DaBaby. It’s a simple dance which means many users are trying it out with it becoming more and more of a popular audio. Expect this dance to continue growing well through the next week.
Examples:
Applicability:
Dance trends are pretty simple so brands here will simple want to have representatives or mascots of the business do the dance to the same audio.
#6 Bottom of the pyramid
37.7k videos on the sound
Audio taken from the show “Dance Moms” of Abby Lee Miller’s young dance studio for girls, depicts Abby Lee discussing her rankings of the girls’ performances. In hindsight this is a pretty terrible way to treat children but in context of the show it’s a hilariously dramatic way to rank people. Now TikTok users are using instead to rank anything that they can think of to be ranked. Most videos are extremely creative and involve humor via sarcasm through some of their rankings.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to use this to rank themselves as top in their category, or product selections within their own range of options.
Trends from last week that keep climbing
#1 Didn’t have the sex talk but…
279.5k videos on the sound
We would’ve been worried if there were no trends this week under the theme of internal struggle and self deprecation, but fear not because this one is it. Users are joking about family issues in their childhood where they never were given the sex talk by their parents, but they were given another interesting talk in its place. One might expect the trend to be wholesome where someone would reference a productive conversation they had with their parents in place of the sex talk but instead kids are inserting equally as traumatizing or hilariously funny talks they ended up having. Options can range from having the “you don’t hit boys” conversation to the “we’re going to have two Christmases” conversation and users are having a great time laughing at some past struggles.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to align the sex talk with talks of maturity as a brand, so effectively one could joke about needing to grow up from mismanagement or something hilariously bad like a pyramid scheme.
#2 Shrek in the sky
352.2k videos on the sound
I really don’t even know where to start with this one or how to explain that an AI filter displaying a giant sexualized Shrek in a tight leather suit is taking over TikTok this week, but it is and I have to. Essentially a user has created a filter that shows Shrek as a giant in the distance coming over the horizon while being in a tight black leather suit and every user and their mom is utilizing the filter. There really is no rhyme or reason for this trend, users are just finding the idea of sexualized Shrek to be so funny in and of its self that it has blown up and that’s the type of content we have to consume on the platform this week because of it.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will simply want to show Shrek joining them in the workplace via the filter.
Bonus
If you decide to watch this bonus example, I can assure that you will have no idea what is going on, but this is deep TikTok culture and this brand has taken advantage of it. To clarify, this is basically a shitpost with the brand jokingly integrated. There's essentially a trend on TikTok to add "ussy" to the end of random words but this brand took it to another level with the most eclectic and odd video, but for TikTok users this is hilarious. They made it as random as possible and that’s why it was funny. When brands don’t pay attention to their actual product and simply focus on the culture, that’s when they are rewarded on the platform and this is a perfect example.
Summary
This week has shown us the many sides of content on TikTok but like we always say it can be entirely different next week with the wide adaptability of trends and formatted content. The commonality of self deprecation and sarcasm is prominent this week, but many other subcategories of the platform continue on alongside these formatted trends. Stick along for the ride and we’ll make sure to guide you through the tumultuous world that is culture on TikTok, and how to navigate it with your brand in the coming year!