“Northumberland Zoo hits different,” said one of its directors, Brian Bradley, who, alongside his wife Linda, posted a clip promoting their establishment using a variety of Gen Z terms in an extremely nonchalant manner.
As the boomer couple strolled through the UK Zoo, they described an owl as having “main character energy,” advised people having a “menty b” (short for mental breakdown) to take a walk by the river, and told a donkey to “slay,” all while visibly clueless about the meaning of what they were saying.
The video was a hit with audiences, as it went viral on both Instagram and TikTok since being uploaded last Friday (September 6), with netizens loving the confused couple’s attempt at using Gen Z lingo.
“I don’t know where Northumberland is but I’m on my way!” said one of their new fans.
A senior couple’s hilarious use of Gen Z slang to promote Northumberland Zoo went viral as they gave a tour of the premises, dropping phrases like “brat” and “slay” with total sincerity
According to Maxine Bradley, the couple’s 35-year-old daughter, the seemingly simple 1-minute video took more than two hours to film.
“We didn’t give my parents any information upfront as we wanted their genuine reactions and plain-faced pronunciations when they said the words. They still don’t know what they mean, and neither do we, to be fair!” she said in an interview with Newsweek.
Their zookeeper, Claudia, who is only 27, was laughing the whole time, according to Maxine, assuring them they were on the right track.
“We are all still very surprised at how far this has gone,” she continued, referring to the clip, which has surpassed 5.3 million views on TikTok.
Other notable moments include Linda standing by a raccoon eating and saying they are “very cutesy, very mindful, and very demure,” making a reference to a phrase popularized by TikTok creator Jools Lebron.
Linguists explain that, even though every young generation invents their own words, Gen Z has been particularly influenced by the fast-paced nature of social media and video games
It appears to be a fact of growing older to be confused by the younger generation, as it seems every adult at some point has had to come to terms with the ever-evolving nature of teenage language.
From words like “brat” to saying that something is “bussin’,” the apparently limitless nature of Gen Z slang is bound to confuse anyone who hears it.
For Nicole Rosen, head of Linguistics at the University of Manitoba, the emergence of these words is integral to the identity development of teenagers, no matter the era.
“There’s different types of groups in high schools, and they differentiate themselves with clothes, and they differentiate themselves with their language as well, and the types of slang that they use,” she told CTV Winnipeg.
However, she added that Gen Z terms in particular are defined by their usage on social media platforms that promote short-term attention spans, such as TikTok, or video games, where meaning needs to be delivered fast before returning to the action.
This is why many of these terms are short and to the point.
Gen Z language can be difficult to understand at first glance, but a quick review of the word’s origins reveals that they are not as complex as they might appear initially
Take “brat” for example. While the word is commonly used to describe an ill-mannered child, in Gen Z lingo, it’s used to describe a woman who’s assertive, blunt, and honest, even when that might be inappropriate in certain situations.
Someone being “delulu” is shorthand for delusional, and it is used to say that someone is out of touch with reality or, more likely, has delusions of grandeur.
Having “drip” means that someone has a unique or cool sense of style and fashion.
Having “rizz,” and its variants of being a “rizzler” or “rizzing” someone, comes from taking the middle part of the word charisma. It is used to describe someone who has a way with words to either seduce someone or get what they want.
Many of these terms have been popularized by streamers or TikTok personalities, and they have gone on to be used in marketing campaigns for products, by political candidates, and in movies.
Rizz, in particular, was even named the Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2023.
Viewers loved the couple’s attempt at Gen Z language, with many recognizing the effort it must’ve taken to record. A hilarious blooper follow-up video confirmed those suspicions
Brian and Linda, who are both in their 60s, uploaded a follow-up video this Tuesday (August 10) in celebration of their viral clip’s success.
“This is how difficult it was to train Directors for Viral Gen-Z Marketing Video,” reads the caption of the blooper reel, which sees the couple struggling to perform the “heart” hand gesture and deliver their lines while keeping a straight face.
“I just know teaching the love heart took work!” said one viewer of the original video, to which the Zoo responded with a very Gen Z-like “No cap!”
“The arthritic finger heart at the beginning really set the mood,” joked another.
“Older posh people saying Menty B is my favorite thing at the minute,” one fan said.
“I love how deadpan it all is,” another pointed out.
“Northumberland Zoo understood the assignment!” one viewer wrote.
“I’ve never wanted to go to a zoo more!” Netizens loved the boomer couple’s earnest attempt at speaking to the younger generation, with many vowing to visit their establishment at some point
