A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
D.C. Plane Crash: The collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and Black Hawk military helicopter over Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night has social users mourning the tragedy and sharing confusion over how and why it happened.
Zouis: Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson reunited at Zayn’s tour stop in Los Angeles on Wednesday night and One Direction stans are going wild.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Gen Z Absurdly Memes the 'Take Anything’ Trend
What It Is: Earlier this month, TikTok users started sharing hypothetical scenarios highlighting who or what they’d be most devastated to lose in a robbery, spurring the “Take Anything” trend. What started as a more straightforward video prompt has evolved into something more absurd and meme-worthy. The latest iteration now has users sharing robber scenarios overlaid on images of surrealist rabbit paintings by artist Irena Aizen, whose art is currently making a splash on TikTok for its unique, eerie style. These memes also tend to end with expressions of sadness over losing what was stolen in a soft, childlike tone. This offbeat take was started by user @tornadoinmyroom after her expression, “noo mi iPad,” went viral, inspiring countless other videos leveraging the same tone and surrealist rabbit art.
The Brand Takeaway: While the “Take Anything” trend began as an unassuming avenue for users to show off what matters most to them, Gen Z’s affinity for the peculiar made it a meme by coupling it with Irena Aizen’s rabbits. Younger audiences are turning surrealist art into fodder for reaction images that allow them to be funny, be relatable, and connect with others with the same niche interests — a departure from the more Millennial reaction .GIFs cut from mainstream TV shows and movies.
Brands looking to join in on the “Take Anything” trend can consider content that taps into their most beloved products or audience quirks. However, take caution against using Aizen’s art in content unless given permission by the artist. Consider other creative ways to infuse your content with more of the absurd humor and relatability that younger audiences are hungry for, whether it’s getting in on more niche memes or trends, working with up-and-coming artists, or broadening social design guidelines to allow for more creative experimentation.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have reprised their True Detective roles in a new ad calling on the Texas legislature to incentivize film and TV productions in the state.
OpenAI is now investigating whether DeepSeek improperly obtained data for distillation of their models.
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is getting a sequel!
Does this cheeseburger look like Steve Harvey? X users are exchanging in funny debates over the latest illusion to hit social media.
The Recruit S2 - Netflix, 1/30
The Voice S27 - NBC, 2/3
Companion - Theaters, 1/31
Love Me - Theaters, 1/31
Hurry Up Tomorrow - The Weeknd
Death & Love Pt.1 - Circa Waves
Hallucinating Love - Maribou State
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