Welcome to peak capitalism: where brands use TikTok like they’re people instead of ASX listed corporations.
If you were #online in 2015 — a golden year of chaos — you may fondly remember the wave of brands coming to Twitter with incredible “how do you do, fellow kids?” energy.
It was cringe content at its finest. It was brands changing their icons to rainbows for Pride but like every day.
In my opinion this whole trend started with the Denny’s Twitter account. Evidence docket #1: A 2017 Buzzfeed article titled ’29 Hilariously Ridiculous Denny’s Tweets’. There’s a solid formula to these tweets: no grammar, no capitals, a weird amount of Daddy jokes.
do you ever yearn for the soft touch of a pancake
— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) May 12, 2017
to some of the users responding to our tweets: diner is spelled d-i-n-e-r not d-a-d-d-y. thank you.
— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) December 19, 2016
sure, you know about the easter bunny but what about the easter denny, who leaves piles of scrambled eggs all over your home and yard
— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) April 16, 2017
It was all very classic 2015 to 2017 humour and Forbes went so far as to call Denny’s “the King of Twitter” back in 2016.
Other brands tried to tap into the Denny’s Twitter legacy but more often than not, they failed. Who could forget the iconic Twitter account @BrandsSayingBae? As put succinctly in its bio: “It’s cool when a corporation tweets like a teenager. It makes me want to buy the corporation’s products.”
Corporate brands trying to be relatable on Twitter in 2022 are viewed with a hefty dose of scepticism. But brands on TikTok are using the language and memes of the app far more successfully. It’s literally impossible at this point to click on a viral video without seeing comments by Duolingo, Macca’s or even ANZ.
My FYP has been full of Duolingo’s big green owl for months. It’s at the point where it no longer feels like a brand but like a content creator.
Jacob Arnott is the managing director of We The People, a Melb-based social media and creative content agency. He told PEDESTRIAN.TV that the nature of TikTok encouraged brands to engage with audiences in a different way.
“We like to think about TikTok as a place where people can ‘just have fun’,” he said.
“Instagram has become a highly pressurised platform of polish and perfection where users only feel comfortable showing their ‘perfect selves’. On the flipside, the content you see on TikTok is a lot more relaxed, engaging and all-around fun.”
@duolingo just givin him just a little smoosh ???? #littlegreenbear #Duolingo #DuaLipa #SOS #myterritorynow #DulaPeep ♬ where is the green bear – jordan simpson
When I was researching for this piece, I screenshotted all the times a brand commented on someone’s TikTok videos on my FYP. Yes, I am an investigative journalist.
In one emotional vid, a TikToker talked about their partner cheating on them with one of their friends. Fashion brand Shekou Clothing commented “nah — this ain’t it — so sorry for your loss — they clearly don’t deserve you.”
Makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills hyped up a man dancing in a TikTok by commenting: “do your THING”.
And the regent of TikTok Duolingo commented “I finally found my people” under a video of someone listening to LMFAO’s eternal banger “Party Rock Anthem”. That comment got more than 42,000 likes.
According to Jacob part of the reason brands engage in this way is to establish themselves in the TikTok ecosystem.
“We encourage all our brand partners to first and foremost think about what it looks like to participate in the community on TikTok,” he said.
“TikTok is a platform of so many sub-communities or ‘sub-Toks’, so it’s really important that brands look at building a presence on TikTok through the lens of how they could best participate and bring their brand into the community in a fun and engaging way.
“Coming to the party as a brand at the right time can leave a strong impression on users and leave your brand top of mind.”
The Duolingo TikTok account, for example, encourages rapport with other TikTok users. It feels like a real person rather than just a brand.
@duolingo Don’t sleep on Duo #majorbagalert #Duolingo #comedy #trend #dualipa #dulapeep #DuaLipa #benervous #surpriseshawty ♬ Major Bag Alert – Damickey Lillard
This TikTok reply puts it nicely: “I feel like you just be forgetting to log out of the company account and just posting what’s on your mind”.
Duolingo is probably the best example of successful TikTok marketing. It uses trends correctly and it makes content that doesn’t necessarily come off as an ad, even though ultimately that’s what it is.
It’s a very subtle form of marketing — or as subtle as you can be when you’re dressed in a giant green owl costume. Plus Duolingo’s schtick has its roots in an earlier Twitter meme of the evil Duolingo owl.
Me: H-
Duolingo: I killed your parents so now you have no reason to miss today’s lesson
— mac (@MacDoesIt) April 10, 2019
Oh god oh fuck. Just woke up in the dead of night to kicking at my door. I think he finally found me.
I haven't practiced Spanish in 4 days. That duolingo bird is relentless.
I think this is the end for me. Adiós.
— Slazo (@slazo) March 27, 2019
my love language is all of them. i learned them all im so scared of the duolingo owl help me
— soup_ (@ambient_soup) January 30, 2022
The brand just figured out how to continue capitalising on a pre-existing meme.
What brands on TikTok are now doing successfully is transforming themselves from being the butt of the joke to being in on the joke.
Take this unhinged Duolingo TikTok with 22.5 million views, for example.
@duolingo and suddenly an owl can swim. #DuaLipa #Duolingo #DulaPeep #stickyicky #comedy #trend #fanedit ♬ original sound – audrina????
It’s funny but it’s also got nothing to do with Duolingo as a brand.
The duolingo tiktok is something else. They subtitled this “CAN YOU GUYS JUST LIKE THIS SO I CAN GO HOME EARLY” lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/UqFU8AoDMw
— dopamine seeker (@livewire11211) January 11, 2022
This marketing encourages us to see brands as our friends, not as people who are trying to sell us stuff.
Props to the clever branding, obviously. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t chuckle at the big green owl. But the fact that there are virtually no ad-less spaces left on the internet is also concerning. There’s now very little internet consumption that isn’t innately tied to capitalist consumption too.
Maybe I want to look at my silly little bits of content without feeling pressured to buy something or download an app or live in fear of a bank trying to be my hashtag bestie.
The post Why Are We All Frothing At The Fkn Mouth Over Brands Who’ve Figured Out How To Use TikTok? appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
