Foreword
This week culture seems to be very pervasive on the platform, manifesting itself in the form of sounds pulled from popular media, in addition to the continuation of interactive trends on the platform. Videos where users are able to find relatability to others on the platform, whether it come from a shared background of mutually loved media, or through interactions with the direct friends, are really what highlight the platform this week. Join us as we explore how brands can integrate with these trends on TikTok, but more importantly gain the trust of the community through doing so!
Audio Based Trends
Most trends are based around sounds, that being said what we mean by audio based trends specifically are trends that pertain to specific lyrics or wording within sound. This is when the action or meaning behind the trend is correlated with the lines spoken. These are usually the most prolific of trends on TikTok so let’s dive in.
Not funny haha, funny weird
154.9k videos on the sound
TikTok trends have often pulled culture from GenZ’s childhood and this is no different. This audio reading “Hmmm funny, not funny haha, funny weird” stems from the popular children’s show, Backyardigans, and has become an extremely funny use case on TikTok this week. Users are applying the line towards their own awkward moments or predicaments from their life. These scenarios are vaguely relatable but draw comedy from being self deprecating, as often seen on the platform and viewers are having a great time consuming this content.
Brand application: Brands will want to replicate the trend with their own predicaments or generally awkward interactions within the company or with customers.
Examples:
I’m gonna live forever
253.6k videos on the sound
This trend is based off the audio singing, “I’m gonna live forever” and users have placed this alongside the premise that they add 5 minutes to their life every time they experience a certain action. Usually these actions are self deprecating, for example being rejected by a guy/girl; yet the possibilities are infinite so users have the opportunity to apply their own relatable common occurrence. This is a super format to follow and due to the wide application it has started to gain significant traction over the last week.
Brand application: Brands will want to reference common workplace or business occurrences that are mildly inconvenient as the experience that if they got five minutes extra of lifetime, they would live forever.
Examples:
I’ve been walking round with 0 bitches
17.7k videos on the sound
The age of the meme rapper has been around for a few years now. Pioneered by rappers like Yung Gravy, Yeat, and even some older Jack Harlow, the genre has now grown to be desirable to talented kids who produce music. One SoundCloud artist named Double A ron has had his meme song blow up on TikTok this week. The drop of the song reads, “I’ve been walking around with zero b*tches” and in the self deprecating age of TikTok, users have accepted and applied the sound to their own lives with open arms. Users will present a premise of who they are which directly or indirectly correlates to them having “zero b*tches.”
Brand application: This trend is once again a sarcastic joke about oneself, and thus brands integrating will have to be self deprecating about elements of their business that aren’t the most glamorous. If a brand is entirely averse to this route, they can joke from a competitor brand’s perspective of the competitor getting “zero b*tches.”
Examples:
My old b average
78.1k videos on the sound
This trend is borderline an interactive trend as it involves others but we decided to put it here since it is involving other’s against their best wishes. Users have taken audio from AMP’s XXL’s 2020 freshman cypher line saying, “Bust down Rollie, avalanche, yeah my ex she average.” Users are applying this audio in an attempt at revenge towards their ex’s by showing photos of their ex when AMP sings “yeah my ex she average.” To be honest this is not the best of what TikTok has to offer yet the sound has still blown up from the wild drama that the trend causes.
Brand application: Brands should honestly stay out of this unless they have a past controversial figurehead. For example Papa John’s would be hilarious to utilize this trend with a photo of Papa John as average.
Examples:
Interactive Trends
This should be somewhat self explanatory but interactive trends are trends that involve users interacting with others to create videos. Often the hilarity or interest generated by working with loved ones or peers creates incredible laughs or simply fun times. Most importantly though, authenticity shows through with interactive trends as most often they are truly authentic.
Got bit by a dog
236.8k videos on the sound
Every week it feels like I have to borderline apologize for the ridiculousness of Gen Z humor on TikTok and this week is no different. This trend has appeared on the platform over the course of the week of kids annoying their parents or significant others with their “dogs.” For reference, dogs here are users’ feet and they start videos under the premise that the other person got attacked by dogs, and then they cut to them chomping that person with their feet. It’s honestly hilarious and the reactions gained from the videos are even better so it’s no wonder this has gone viral.
Brand application: Frankly if I were a brand I probably wouldn’t have my brand rep going around biting others with their feet, but the most accepted brands on the platform are the ones that dip their toes (pun intended) furthest into the culture, so if a brand were to replicate this trend within the company it would probably go viral.
Examples:
Filter Based Trends
Filters have risen to prominence over the last year as super fun and easy ways for regular users to create popular videos on the platform. They often create scenery or distort faces to replicate different features or expressions. These are the easiest trends for users to utilize and thus generally have very quick and widespread virality.
Ask questions filter
138.2k videos on the sound
Filters on TikTok are getting more advanced and this one includes a pretty simple AI that is answering user’s questions. One can think about it as if a magic 8 ball were to be a TikTok filter, and with it users are asking deep rooted questions about their lives. The most viral videos are borderline full conversations with the filter discussing personal drama from the creator’s life often centered around relationships. The possibilities are endless with what one can ask the questions filter and suffice it to say TikTok users are taking advantage of the platform’s new oracle.
Brand application: Brands will want to similarly replicate the video with questions regarding the status and future of their brand. The more dramatic, the better.
Examples:
Movement Trends
TikTok virality was founded upon the back of Musically, a platform entirely centered around dance trends. Dance trends have been an essential and prominent part of content on the platform ever since its inception. These trends are very simple as they just involve a common audio with a replicable dance or movement applied to it. Brands can utilize these through simple replication form where brand representatives and mascots will do the dance. They are the most fun but also the most simple!
Fortnite moves dance
39.9k videos on the sound
Fortnite has often taken dance trends from TikTok for its game but this week the turn tables have… well they’ve turned (If you didn’t get that joke). This sound is comprised of a drill beat with an audio clip of someone in the background shouting, “Oh fortnight move, do it again!” With this users have aligned a Fortnite dance that gamers use to make fun opponents when they get a kill. The dance is a simple shimmy back and forth and when the audio reads, “do it again” users hand the phone to the person filming to take a shot at the dance too. This one is pretty fun and simple so take a look at examples down below.
Brand application: As with all dance trends, a brand will want to utilize this if they have a recognizable brand figure or mascot that can replicate the trend. Additionally regular brand employees could recreate the trend within their respective branch.
Examples:
Case Study
Amazon Music this week made their foray into TikTok advertising with an ad that attempted to celebrate pride month. Attempted is the key word there. This is because the ad they posted was incredibly low quality and so cringey that it looked like a video somebody was about to duet and make fun of. Amazon music here shows us exactly not what to do with promoted advertising on TikTok. Frankly it’s unbelievable this ad made it past whatever agency was charged with creating it. Not only was the pride integration incredibly tone deaf, but the fact that this looks like it was shot on a 2008 android makes it that much worse. Below we have an image of the top 5 comments from the video which goes to show just how little users accepted the content, and even questioned if it was a joke. Regardless, Amazon Music does highlight a learning for a lot of brands. I think most understand basic video quality standards, so I’ll leave that aside, but what we really want to highlight especially during pride month is brand integration with cultural trends and attitudes on the platform. Like we’ve mentioned countless times in the past, TikTok is a platform centered around authenticity, and a cringey dance to a song with loud colorful pride pop ups is not something that users will accept, or believe is true to pride. Videos showcasing true love stories or genuine interaction between pride couples are more in line with what users will like and be able to relate to on the platform, so brands, take note.
Time Capsule - Prior Week Trends Still Growing
Tortilla slap
I think a lot of the time when adults see TikTok videos like these the first thing they ask is, “why?” This is definitely a reasonable question but the answer isn’t quite as reasonable… The answer of course being, “because it’s funny.” With this trend users are getting together with a friend or partner and filling their mouths with water before slapping each other in the face with tortillas. Yes, you did read that correctly. The hilarity is two fold, as slapping a person with a tortilla is already humorous, but this is amplified further by the fact that the two competitors can’t talk, and will usually end up doing a spit take right into the other persons face. Essentially this trend is just crazy fun to do with friends and because of that it’s going equally crazy viral.
Brand application: Brands will want to participate in this trend by having brand reps replicate the interaction. Additionally brands, especially competitors, would most likely create a viral presence if they were to partner for a video to slap each other with tortillas. (Chick Fil A vs Canes let’s see it)
Examples:
He’s a 10 but.…
About a week ago a video of three girls hanging out in their car went viral as they shouted out attributes of guys that would make them either more attractive or less attractive. The format goes as such: one girl says a guy has a certain rating (i.e. “he is a 7 but…”), and then they would follow that with an attribute that would change the rating (i.e. has a mullet). An example might be, “He’s a 10 but he has poor hygiene.” From there, the other two girls in the car would give their new rating based on the new qualifications. This video went crazy viral and as such other friend groups of both girls and guys have started replicating the trend with their own preferences and distastes. This is another one of those trends that brings friends together in an interactive format so especially with summer happening right now, we expect to see this one growing more and more.
Brand application: Brands here can replicate the format while integrating brand tones into the messaging. For example Chick Fil A could say something along the lines of, “He’s a 6 but he’s a level 2 Chick Fil A rewards member… Oh he’s a 10.”
Examples: