Edition 79 – What’s Trending?

This week’s special edition of Our Take focuses on what’s been trending on social media. Can’t keep up with the trends? You’re not alone. More and more creators have highlighted how NOTHING is trending right now because everything is trending at the same time, all the time. So, in the midst of this madness, we’re here to help.

From Ye being booted off Twitter to Ryanair trolling their customers and AI influencers pushing their nuclear agenda, let us delve into the internet’s treasure trove of digital titbits and what the future holds for social media.

Trolling taken to new heights

Image credit: @ryanair on TikTok

Trolling is synonymous with internet culture, but Ryanair has taken it to new heights by morphing it into a divisive marketing technique. The airline, who would charge for emotional baggage if they could, became international news this month over a window seat – or lack thereof.

Their two-fingers-to-the-customer reply racked up 55 million views and a shout-out from Jimmy Fallon, and has garnered more coverage than any standard corporate social media content strategy could.

Image Credit: Twitter @ryanair

Ryanair’s ability to derail discussion with belligerent tweets mimics their unapologetically cheap and brazen business model and their marketing team (rumoured to be a lone Gen Z filled to the brim with oat flat whites) is definitely doing something right.

AInfluencing

‘Isodope’ is the latest futuristic endeavour in the virtual influencer sphere. A typical TikTok involves the model explaining her morning routine and diet. It starts with black coffee, a workout, and a bag of gummy bears. Gummy bears, she says, are roughly the size of uranium pellets. “One uranium pellet, roughly the size of a gummy bear, has as much energy as 149 gallons of oil,” the clip cuts to her dressed in futuristic workout clothes with her continuing “This means we can create an insane amount of energy in smaller spaces. Which requires less land. Which is great news for the environment“.

Isodope is not just your regular influencer though – she is an AI/human partnership designed with the creative agency &Walsh and DALL·E– an AI system that can create realistic art from natural language. Isodope appears as a  glitchy vaporwave cyborg who spreads scientific knowledge of nuclear energy through the medium of TikTok. Her videos have scan lines like a dodgy VHS tape that blurred lines between alternate realities. The influencer (IRL a Brazilian model called Isabelle Boemeke) uses her social media platform to rebrand nuclear energy through an AI imagery aesthetic. 

The creative usage of AI is everywhere now, from art galleries and exhibitions to branding and influencing but we stan the retro-futuristic aesthetic and the core message of Isodope: fossil fuels need to go.

 

IM MA LET YOU FINISH(ED)

Getting booted off social media has become a badge of honour amongst celebrities, with ‘violating community guidelines’ the adult equivalent of being sent out of the classroom.

Kanye West has never shied away from sharing his opinions on the internet (or anywhere ever), but he took it too far last week with both Twitter and Meta shutting him down for his antisemitic remarks. Since Ye’s Paris Fashion Week show, numerous brands have distanced themselves from the rapper – the YEEZY partnership with Adidas has been put under review and JP Morgan Chase has also asked Kanye to move his business from the bank by 21st November. Balenciaga has also seemingly cut all ties with Kanye West, following his “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and antisemitic statements.

For a while now, Ye has been tap dancing around a landmine with his comments on social media, so many were unsurprised that he finally triggered a ban from both platforms. These platforms are megaphones for celebrities and social media companies have a duty of care towards the communities they’ve created. The only question is how long will the ban last this time?

Sylvanian Drama: Burberry’s unlikely influencers

Image credit: Burberry

TikTok’s global domination is old news by now, but the platform is developing into a whole new arena for advertising, with brands brainstorming ways to tap into TikTok’s extraordinary reach – especially with young people. 

One such collaboration is Burberry’s newest ad campaign for The Lola bag featuring the tiny figurines from the TikTok channel @Sylvaniandrama.

Burberry’s campaign proves that it’s worth taking the time to try and understand internet culture -so listen up folks!

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