Foreword
The Walmart yodel kid is back, white kids are treating their black friends as royalty, and the Migos have alerted the world about the bag. The hodgepodge of content on TikTok seems to continue to become more diverse and more interesting week by week and we really can’t expect what is to come next. I mean c’mon, the viral Walmart yodel kid from four years now has a country song that is going viral on the platform out of nowhere; it really doesn’t get more wacky than that. 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 Nostalgic moment
1.1m videos on the sound
In the movie Interstellar, there are a few scenes which act as flashbacks to the main characters life before traveling into deep space, but more importantly they portray the scenes from his memory as nostalgic moments. These scenes have echo effects on the clips with Hans Zimmer’s incredible score overlayed and combine together to create the effect. This week on TikTok users have figured out how to replicate this using the echo voice filter in combination with the same music from the scene. Creators are mostly showing wholesome nostalgic moments from their own past, but as always there are a few more sarcastic videos which we would be less quick to define as wholesome.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands can use moments from their brand past to create the effect of showing how a small company or brand has come from nothing to being something.
#2 Black history month
Not trackable over multitude of sounds
February is off to a great start and TikTok users have not forgotten about the importance of black history month. The only issue is they maybe misunderstand its meaning… With this trend users are joking about white people treating their black friends and family like royalty, just because the month is black history month. Users are depicting their black friends walking into school or another location, where all of the white friends proceed to act as butlers, taking their friends jackets off for them, brushing their teeth, carrying them from class to class, and so much more. It’s a pretty funny commentary about how naming a month for black history, doesn’t really do much unless people take action, yet more so it’s GenZ finding camaraderie with their friends of different colors in humor.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands are gonna want to stay out of this one as some millennials and older adults won’t understand the humorous undertones, and will find the videos off putting.
#3 Bag alert
150.9k videos on the sound
To preface this, the slang “bag” is used when someone earns or somehow acquires a large amount of money, referring to bank bags which hold large sums of cash. DJ Khaled and the Migos released a song called major bag alert and users have been using the audio of “bag alert” to describe stereotypes of people who love specific products. For example there is a stereotype that the LGBTQ+ community loves Subaru, so a user might create a video with the premise of “When the Subaru executives find out the LGBTQ+ community exists” with the major bag alert audio playing in the background. This essentially means that because a certain demographic exists, they are going to spend a lot of money collectively on a certain product.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to joke about stereotypes of their own buyer demographic. The format should reflect the other videos where it is when their brand finds out about X type of buyer.
#4 Gritty or life
103.3k videos on the sound
Over the last few weeks the world has loved the gritty. It’s become more than just a dance, it’s become a lifestyle, and many users are unwilling to not gritty. Creators are joking about this love for the gritty and pinning it against other major importances in their life. If a significant other tells them it’s either their relationship or the gritty, we all know the gritty has to be the choice and the videos that have come out of this trend are hilarious.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to joke about things of importance for their business pinned against the gritty in a similar fashion.
A brand like Chick Fil A might have a lot of fun joking about how they take Sundays off to have more time to Gritty.
#5 Bloodline ends here
133.4k videos on the sound
In this trend users are joking from their parents perspective that their family bloodline is ending for a multitude of reasons. Whether it’s because they are gay, they get no action, can’t get over their ex, or more, the bloodline isn’t continuing and users are shameless about it. This trend is predicated upon the widespread theme of self deprecation on the platform.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to joke more so about the company bloodline and the company being able to continue. Whatever reason may warrant the company not continuing should be the object of the joke here.
#6 Never ever been happier
57.7k videos on the sound
Euphoria is back with a new episode this last week and thus another new trend. Users continue to pull relatable audio clips from the show and in this particular one the character is belting about never being happier while obviously not being happy whatsoever. Users are reflecting this sentiment as they present a scenario in text where they are trying to cover the fact that they are not happy with extreme verbal happiness.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to joke about inconveniences or brand issues which are tough for the brand but they jokingly gloss over for the public eye.
Trends from last week that keep climbing
#7 Gritty
416.2k videos on the sound
The Gritty is TikToks next cultural movement and just about everyone from Joe Burrow to Jimmy Fallon are participating in promoting the new dance move. If you are unfamiliar, Gritty is the beloved mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers and became a popular internet meme for his dance moves at games. Although the human body doesn’t allow for the dynamic movement of Gritty, fans were able to distill the essence of the move and take it to the internet. Ever since it has come to TikTok, the Gritty has been a hit and has become a celebration dance move. The only question that remains, is who will have the best Gritty.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands will want to have their brand reps or mascots compete for who has the best Gritty.
Additionally brands can show a brand mascot celebrating good news or a workplace triumph with the Gritty.
#8 Use this sound for good luck
723.6k videos on the sound
If you’ve ever seen a post that says to like and comment for good luck, you’ll understand the premise behind this trend. When this sound first appeared users created videos telling viewers that if they used the audio, they would have good luck within the next twenty four hours and their life’s dreams would be manifested. It turned out to work out for a few people and those users started posting videos talking about how they received insanely good luck after using the audio. There is zero correlation between the two occurrences but superstition sometimes is more powerful than the real world and it has thus blown up. What makes this a trend is that many users have started posting parodies of these videos. In these sarcastic renditions creators are presenting the most off-putting or hilarious situations that they consider as their goals being manifested. Check out examples below.
Examples:
Applicability:
Brands should lean into the parody of this trend where they joke about an amazing workplace thing happening after using the sound.
For example saying that the shoplifter came back and returned the money is an unlikely scenario that would be funny.
Bonus
If you recall back to a few years ago, a kid named Mason Ramsey went absurdly viral for a clip of him yodeling in the middle of Walmart. Mason went on shows like Ellen and raised a ton of money from his brief fame, and then he sort of disappeared. As it turns out, he donated 100% of the earnings he made to charities and good causes, and then he decided to go back to being just a normal kid. Fast forward to today, Mason is now 15, works at Subway (No I’m not kidding) and he just released a new country song. He’s been using TikTok to do tons of promotion with videos everyday utilizing the audio and the song is now going viral on the platform. It looks like Mason is about to retake is claim to fame because of it and we can’t wait to see how he continues to harness the platform like other artists to bring himself back to the spotlight.
Summary
Content on TikTok continues to reflect the lives and feelings of users. Through relatability in specific audios, humor, and more, the platform provides the perfect place for people to come and find content that mirrors their inner feelings in the form of entertaining videos. This week was highlighted by the emotions of nostalgia and self deprecation, yet the themes extend to many reaches of the human psyche. 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!