A new prank has made its way to the FYP this week.
It started with a slightly risqué viral sound: a girlfriend says, “Things I’ve put up my b*tt? Nothing. Things my boyfriend has put up his b*tt…” before cutting to her partner listing random household or garden items like “a pitchfork” or “a mallet.” The truth behind the trend is that he’s actually just answering a totally innocent prompt like “Name things you’d find in a garden shed.”
The trend blew up instantly, couple-creator duo Austin and Cidney hit over 7.6 million views in three days. However, the trend has sparked debate about brand safety. Some influencers have reportedly been pulled from campaigns due to the trend’s crude wording, even though the humor is largely tongue-in-cheek.
As with most viral trends, the format has already evolved – especially as creators are finding ways to make it more “safe for work”. Creators and agencies are jumping on brand-safe remixes, like the team at TBH Talent, who swapped the original joke for a more work-specific take: “Things I do that I shouldn’t when I work from home.”
Everyone is talking about “flow state” on TikTok – but not in relation to meditation and yoga, as you may expect.
The sound behind the trend comes from an old Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star collab, where Shane declares he’s in “flow state” while creating their Conspiracy makeup palette. Creators are using the audio from the clip to describe the random, hyper-focused moments when everything in life just clicks, eg, gossiping with a friend, scrolling Pinterest for hours, or successfully using a self-scan checkout without the “unexpected item in bagging area” announcement.
Brand opportunity:
Chipotle could jump on this trend with a “When I’m eating Chipotle, I reach flow state” creator collaboration, featuring a creator completely zoning out while building their perfect burrito, mixing chips and guac, or eating their well-deserved meal after a long day.
Creators across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are sharing their ultimate gift guides covering every type of person in your life: parents, partners, friends, colleagues, neighbours – the list goes on. There’s a guide for everyone, and the content formats are as varied as the gift ideas.
On YouTube, creators are posting long-form, conversational videos walking viewers through curated product lists.
On Instagram and TikTok, the trend leans more visual and quickly digestible with minimalist, beautifully designed carousel graphics showcasing all the recommendations at a glance. There are 9.2 million posts under the hashtag #giftideas on TikTok!
Gift guide content is so popular as it takes away the heavy lifting of endless browsing online or dedicating hours walking around stores to find a gift that your loved ones may or may not love. Viewers trust their favourite creators to help them navigate the overwhelm of holiday shopping – and provide the best discount codes.
Brand opportunity
A retailer that stocks multiple brands – like JD Sports – would be perfect to collaborate with creators on this type of content during the holiday season. Gift guides can be created as video or still content, and with a retailer like JD Sports, the options are endless as creators can share the perfect gift guide for the cool girl in your life, the boyfriend, the sporty friend, and more.
Want to chat about turning trends into measurable results for your brand? Reach out to us at hello@digitalvoices.com.
