A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
#AMAs: Last night was the 51st Annual American Music Awards, with stars like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Beyonce bringing home the silverware.
Memorial Day: Yesterday was Memorial Day with many users paying their respects to fallen members of the US Military.
Liverpool: Liverpool FC celebrated their Premier League triumph with a parade through the city yesterday, however the day was left marred after an individual drove a car through a crowd of fans.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Holy F***ing Airball
What It Is: An “airball” is a shot in basketball that misses the hoop entirely. So, with the NBA finals approaching, you’d think a trend utilizing the term “airball” would likely have to do with basketball, the sport it originated from. However, a new trend on TikTok, “Holy F***ing Airball”, is repurposing the word to humorously highlight moments of awkwardness or failure, often in social interactions. In the TikTok context, “airball” is used to caption videos where someone attempts something, like making a move on someone, and it goes comically wrong.
Brand Takeaway: This trend highlights, yet again, that vulnerability is highly valued on social media. In a time where every “influencer” needs their photos and videos to be perfect down to the tiniest detail, trends like these are incredibly refreshing in feeds, allowing the user to take a break from overly polished content and instead laugh alongside a creator at their failures or mishaps. For brands looking at this and wondering, “How does this apply to me?”, it's time to embrace your missteps and lean into the realness of being human. Though your brand may work hard to keep a pristine, polished image, that may not resonate or allow consumers to relate to you. Allow your brand to have fun - poking fun at themselves before others might - and it could pay dividends in relatability, driving users to your profile.
Examples: 1, 2, 3
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
This past Sunday Liverpool FC lifted a trophy at Anfield with fans in the stadium for the first time in 35 years.
Maybe playing the piano isn’t as hard as I thought.
Survivor 48 winner Kyle Fraser has revealed the moment he shared the news of his win with his wife.
Famed pilot, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger known for successfully landing a plane in the Hudson River, threw out the first pitch on Memorial Day at Citi Field.
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