A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Signal: The encrypted messaging platform has come into the spotlight after the White House gets scrutiny for using it to discuss sensitive foreign policy plans via text.
Argentina & Brazil: In a historic World Cup Qualifier, Argentina trounced Brazil 4-1, marking a pivotal moment in their fierce rivalry sparking widespread discussion.
Gaga: Lady Gaga has announced her 2025 tour 'The Mayhem Ball' which has sparked a significant response from fans looking to secure tickets.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
“Doing ____ based on how much I like these desserts” 🍪🍦🎂
What It Is: In recent days, a food trivia sound has gone viral with up to 242.6K+ videos made on TikTok alone. The sound features two female contestants (Joey & Sunnie) rapidly identifying desserts: “Cheesecake,” ✅, “Apple Pie,” ✅, “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” ✅, “Brownies,” ✅, “Ice Cream Sundae,” ✅…and so on. What’s come to life has been a humorous challenge of sorts – users have adopted the sound to reveal their favorite sweet treats, actioning with each game-like DING following each answer. Popular iterations have seen back flips, awkward humping, vogueing, silent screams, subtle mouth opening, cat petting, and even people doing the challenge post-tooth extraction. The interpretations are endless with popular television figures & influencers hopping on the trend too.
Brand Takeaway: Uncomplicated in nature, this trend has been an easy way for people to share their personal preferences with thumb-stopping exaggeration. Getting down to the psychology of it all, human beings crave the ability to share. According to The New York Times, 94% of people say they share on social platforms to inform, amuse, & help others. 68% of people say they share about themselves on social media to communicate who they are while 73% share to find others with common interests. While the science of sharing is nothing necessarily new (or groundbreaking) to marketers & advertisers, it explains why we continue to see such low-lift, playful trends circulate the internet. A sound that can speak to social users beyond the context of its original use is its superpower. How could FOX have known that a clip from its game show “The Floor” would put its sound on everyone’s FYP? The beauty of social is that a video from November 2024 could take off just 4 months later thanks to the algorithm & user creativity.
Examples: 1, 2, 3
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
😺 Napster is getting a second shot at relevance with its acquisition by 3D-tech company Infinite Reality.
👯♂️ H&M is jumping into the world of AI by creating “digital twins” of its models that the talent will fully control.
📱 Deloitte’s annual digital media trends survey found that Gen Z is the 1st generation who thinks social content is more relevant than traditional TV & film.
👾 To combat a swarm of AI-generated spam and bots, Gen Zers on TikTok are organizing a coordinated “invasion” of YouTube Shorts.
Want to subscribe? Reach out to culturetaskforce@substack.com.