The weekly feed. Social trends, news, viral videos, and culture. October 26th.

Welcome to The Weekly Feed.

We've got two weeks of culture and internet madness to cover, so let's just hop right into it!

Discourse & Discussion

Lahaina Tacos flips the influencer playbook.

A small taco shop in downtown Honolulu came out of the gate swinging with a fake influencer review parody and simply hasn't stopped. Rather than paying five figures for a polished lifestyle creator, they leaned into self-awareness, local charm, and tongue-in-cheek satire to drive organic engagement far beyond Hawaii.

Tips for brands:

Subverting feed conventions: Audiences have developed banner blindness to typical aesthetic influencer spots. Flipping standard conventions on their head instantly earns retention and trust.
Leaning into self-awareness: Turning your operational quirks, strengths, and weaknesses into comedic creative hooks resonates far better than attempting to emulate hyper-polished corporate competitors.

TikTok Shop diamond auctions expose algorithmic commoditization.

TikTok Live and TikTok Shop have merged into a rapid-fire auction ecosystem—most visibly with sellers streaming GIA-certified, lab-grown diamonds where viewers claim up to 5-carat stones for under $100. Much like Pokémon attempting to deflate secondary-market card scalpers by flooding shelves with new prints, live social auctions are testing whether hyper-accessible e-commerce can rapidly strip perceived luxury value from heritage categories.

Tips for brands:

Price perception in social-native storefronts: The frictionless accessibility of TikTok Shop can quickly devalue high-ticket luxury framing. Premium brands must maintain strict separation between mass social discovery and transactional sales channels.
Category disruption happens in live feeds: Traditional mined diamond dealers and heritage jewelers aren't driving the narrative anymore; real-time creator storefronts are dictating pricing perception directly to millions of daily viewers.

Trends

It's advent calendar season—these have become such a MASSIVE trend in previous years, and even unexpected brands like Fishwife are getting in on it this year.
America has a new national park! And the internet is really excited for it.
Halloween costumes are here! And the current biggest costume reveal trend is using this sound (this was also used last year).
We're in marathon season! And the Chicago Marathon certainly produced a ton of content!
Pumpkin patch pumpkin head.
I'm so sorry I lied costume/childhood picture trend (how are these SO surprising every time?).
THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR.
Zooming in real quick.
But I'm a beagle.

Viral Vids

So, I guess this is what happens when you parachute into a tree.
Boy Throb X Mayor Mamdani.
A very appropriate use of this audio.
Yeah you know, it is pretty good.
Pranking Charlie Puth.
Here to help Lis buy her car.
Reciting 22 Jump Street as your wedding speech is a choice.
You will never guess her costume.
I think Doja Cat has too much time on her hands right now.

Platform News

The Instagram Creator Ring Awards are back with a pretty stacked list of judges.
Robert Downey Jr. X Snapchat SPECS, which honestly makes sense if you pretend he's really Tony Stark.
Facebook is giving you more control over what you see in your algorithm.
As more and more users are calling out AI Slop, Adam Mosseri admits more needs to be done about it on Instagram, but YouTube is now allowing brands to block their ads from showing up with AI Slop.
Is X banning "ugly ads" their way of saying no AI Slop?
As X partners with companies to be the place for NFL, Threads is introducing its own NFL commentary team…Which is smart because Threads now has more monthly users than X.
Mark Zuckerberg is never beating the AI Bot allegations, especially after the odd way he tried to consume human food and drink on the Cheeky Pint podcast.
And TikTok now has TWO deals with Microdrama Partners.

Music / Movies / TV

Glee is getting rebooted with a ton of the original cast and the internet has MIXED emotions about this (and great ideas for it).
And SO IS GIRLS?!
We finally have the trailer for the next Disney animated movie (that's not a sequel) Hexed.
And we've got the trailer for the next animated Netflix movie (since KPop Demon Hunters)—this could be as big of a hit!
And a trailer for Greta Gerwig's Narnia.
Nicolas Cage and Antonio Banderas are confirmed as the two that will be continuing the True Detective series.
The trailer for Hunting Wives is here, coming back for Thanksgiving.
Kid Cudi announced that he will be writing, directing, and starring in a biopic about Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Did you know there's going to be a new Angry Birds movie? I didn't until they dropped this real-time moment around the Kelly Clarkson bird drama.
DTWS (Dancing With the Stars) had their dedication night, which is, as always, tear jerking. Millennials are obsessed with this 10 Things I Hate About You reunion... and the rest of the internet is ripping the show for their odd pacing.
Olivia Rodrigo dropped her collab remix with Chappell Roan and it is a BOP.
Tate McRae dropped her new single and performed it at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Matchbox 20 is going on a Matchbox 30 years tour.
And Britney Spears dropped a previously unreleased song to celebrate 25 years of Britney.
Zach Bryan dropped a new album and new tour this week.
Calvin Harris also announced his first headlining tour this week.
Cardi B had her Tiny Desk Co n cert is SO good.

Sports & Gaming

The first-ever Banana Bowl debuted an original song written for Banana Ball by the people who wrote The Greatest Showman.
And after the Banana Bowl, the 2027 Banana Ball schedule dropped with a 2-hour livestreamed schedule drop show & they're going international this year! And you only have till 10/31 to join the lottery for tickets.
Is the Super Bowl too much football for you? Well, never fear, there will be a Star Wars animated "alterna-cast" streaming live on Disney+.
Nebraska Volleyball is outselling all football programs in the NIL Store.
As the Brewers head to the World Series, their $1,000 Timeless Ticket promotion from 11 years ago feels like it had poor foresight.
Blake Griffin is getting his own late-night sports talk show.
Jalen Hurts and his pulmonary embolism really the whole talk of the NFL right now.
A new, and potentially final, trailer for GTA6 dropped and it is FULL of new details. And with the new GTA6 coming so soon, people are planning their "final drive" in GTA5.
The Atlanta Falcons are in HOT water after dropping their new logo. Does anyone on their staff have eyes?
Did you know there's an UNO Championship with $50k on the line?!
EA (Electronic Arts) has shut down BioWare and the massively popular Mass Effect game franchise.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer has shone the spotlight on a little-known character from the franchise, because of the way he talks.
Catching cats just like Pokemon? Yep, you can with this new app.

Celebrity

Remember how we got excited that Jennifer Lawrence joined Instagram again? Well, turns out it's so she can launch a new hair care brand.
Kylie Jenner was tapped to wear the $50M Fantasy Bra for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show—but many are complaining it didn't fit her well (which if you've ever been fitted at VS for a bra, well.......).
Paris Hilton is becoming the face of ADHD during ADHD awareness month.
Soulja Boy (yes, that one) is running for president.
The Thom Yorke x Har r y Styles “musicians on musicians” interview is so unhinged.
Kim K dressed as North, North dressed as Natalie Nunn, and Natalie Nunn dressed as Nor t h.
Keke Palmer x Kamala Harris.
Kristen Wiig making the most Kristen Wiig debut on TikTok.
Miley Cyrus is getting criticized for her low-energy performances at her Hollywood Bowl shows.
And if you missed all of the controversy over Shane Gillis's SNL monologue. Here's a TL;DR for you in case you're out of the loop.

Influencer

Speaking of A-list influencers, Rakai is getting his first sneaker with Under Armour.
Ashby is making her Off-Broadway debut!
Congrats to Serena Neel on her baby! What an on-brand way to reveal.
I recently stumbled upon and now obsessed with Crys who cooks for her co-workers every day in the office.
He belongs maybe in between celeb and influencer, like anyone on a reality show, but Collin Gosselin from John & Kate + 8 is finally speaking out about the abuse he endured from his mom.
Chicken Shop Date x Noel Gallagher.
Debbie Shields just made herself famous with the most iconic improv with Conan O'Brien on Subway Takes.
Ethan Klein of the H3 podcast has been exposed for cheating on his wife, and the whole crew walked out—feeling like a Ned Fulmer situation all over again.

Brands

Chili’s X Snooki.
J.Crew X American Girl.
J.Crew X Please Don't Destroy (this is REALLY good and really interesting for such a legacy brand to lean into this kind of humor and entertainment).
GymShark X Megan T h ee Stallion.
Boston Love Is Blind "Star" Stew just so happens to work for Shark... and they are leaning in FULLY on their social channels.
Apple dropped their new Apple Music logo and of course they did it all practically again.
Apple is also leaning into home accessories now, which feels a litttttttle late to the game.
Reese’s named their Trick-or-Treatiest Street in America with the help of some celebs and influencers.
Dunkin took over their Salem location with Spidey D.
Disney X Gustaf Westman.
Did Elon really make that Tesla fly?
Chicken. Flavored. Potatoes.
Remember when John Summit lit his Rimowa luggage on fire after it broke multiple times on trips? Well, Away has worked with him for the PERFECT launch of their new aluminum luggage.
Walmart+ X Sam's Club bundle.
The Jim Henson Creature Shop is now open for public tours.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch x Starbucks.

Upcoming

Stay tuned to Sephora's page this weekend as they tease whatever "Sethphora" is.
Clayface, Klara and the Sun, and Wildwood—three VERY different movies—all hit theaters and could all generate their own kind of buzz.
The World Series kicked off and will continue through this week.
Yaga, the Hudson Williams horror series, premiered on AMC+ today.
New celeb reality game show, The Mob, premiers on Monday and could be as big as Traitors.
Heidi Klum is SURE to keep dropping hints for her famous Halloween party costume as that will be revealed next Saturday.
In addition, expect TONS of Halloween content in your feed throughout the week as we wrap up Spooky Season.

That's all from this week's feed! Until next time.

Xoxo,

Brendan Antonacci, Geli Hornewer, Jordan Warren, Makenna Winner, and myself (Hannah Grubow).

Turn internet culture into your brand’s biggest advantage. Contact our Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Brandon Cooke, at brandon@barkleyokrp.com to start the conversation.