A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
#OpeningDay: Baseball fans are celebrating the start of the MLB season with 14 games to watch on Opening Day today.
#AvengersDoomsday: Marvel Studios announced the cast for Avengers: Doomsday sparking discussion about the return of the franchise.
MS-13: US authorities say they have apprehended one of the top leaders of the MS-13 gang in Virginia early Thursday morning.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
TikTok’s March Meme Drought
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What It Is: TikTok was feeling a little quieter this month as users took note of an absence of new and exciting memes on the platform. User @goofangel was one of the first to point out the phenomenon, labeling the lack of new “brainrot” memes as the “TikTok Great Depression of March 2025.” Others backed this up, citing memes from earlier in the year, like “we’re donzo” or “not my name quarterback,” as some of the last to take off. Somewhat ironically, content about the meme drought has turned the moment itself into a meme, resulting in a new slew of chaotic meta-commentary. The meme drought has also sparked conversations around the lifecycle of memes, and if creators can satisfy the social audience’s insatiable appetite for viral content.
The Brand Takeaway: TikTok’s meme drought highlighted the audience’s dependency on meme-based content that can easily be recreated or referenced to create a collective moment. Meme consumption has shifted over the last few years, primarily driven by the success of short-form, auditory trends from algorithm-based video apps like TikTok. As trend cycles get shorter and shorter, however, brands and creators must keep up with the rapid pace of content production and consumption, leading to burnout and creative droughts. Many brands have also shifted to modernized and carefully crafted aesthetics on social, making it difficult to fully tap into meme culture at the risk of sharing content that doesn’t align with their identities — and effectively killing a popular meme in the process.
While this isn’t a moment that brands should necessarily activate on, it’s indicative of a need for more sustainable approaches to social content to alleviate the constant pressure to create the next viral moment. Brands should continue prioritizing quality content that speaks to their target audience, and embrace diverse content types with long-term value to sustain audience interest beyond typical trend cycles. When the next viral meme comes along, take a moment to assess if it fits within your brand’s identity and culture first before jumping on it to ensure the content truly resonates with the audience.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
On the 10-year anniversary of his exit from One Direction, Zayn Malik shocked fans by performing “Night Changes” in Mexico.
OpenAI’s latest update to GPT4-o is inspiring users to generate Studio Ghibli-style images, sparking discussions on Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s sentiments toward AI-generated animation.
A live action Scooby Doo series is in the works at Netflix!
An X debate over the new Assassin’s Creed game ended up with the game’s social handle ratio-ing Elon Musk on his own platform.
Bosch: Legacy Season 3 - Prime Video, 3/27
MLB Opening Day - Cable/Streaming, 3/27
A Working Man - Theaters, 3/28
Death of a Unicorn - Theaters, 3/28
Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead - Ariana Grande
Based on a True Story - Will Smith
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