The weekly feed. Social trends, news, viral videos, and culture. September 15th.

Welcome to The Weekly Feed.

This report is packed with the latest social platform news, pop culture moments, and brand wins you need to know. Go ahead and get click-happy, pass it around the office, and use these trends to inspire your brand's next move.

DISCOURSE & DISCUSSION

• I think one of the big reasons why Dancing With The Stars has gotten so big in the past few years has been the second-screen experience, with all of the TikTok BTS content that comes out of the show (And duh, it's fan-voted; why wouldn't the dancers AND stars be capitalizing on building even more affinity with audiences?) Heck, that's why the People's Princess, Andy Richter, stayed on the show so long last season—because his dances alone for sureeeee were not cutting it. If there's even another layer to that, there are anonymous BTS accounts popping up showing even more sides of the dancers off-set. Just something interesting to think about when it comes to your brand: What is the "second screen" experience you could be providing outside of how people normally interact with you? Is it your primary social channels? Do you make a secondary one? Are there people to feature? Locations? There's a lot to be said for this strategy!
• Again, TikTok is a primary source of news when it comes to newsworthy moments—like the three hurricanes that were (and are) circling in the Pacific, including boots-on-the-ground coverage in Hawaii and showcases of the changing coastline in California.
• The internet is obsessed with Delores and now also Martin's Potato Buns.  A moment like this is like a lightning strike, and heck yes to Martin's literally launching their TikTok account for the first time just to capitalize on this moment and work with Delores—despite all of the drama around the original creator. What a weird moment on the internet, but great job to Martin's for not letting this sit and acting FAST, despite not even being on TikTok to begin with.

TRENDS

• Luke Bryan dropped a new song last week and uh, the lyrics fans have made-up in the comments are FAR more popular than the ones he wrote himself (just look at the comments).
• Wellness darties are the new thing amongst Gen Z college students, and as a millennial that had the millennial college experience, this really blows my mind.
• The Lobster Cutlet is about to be the newest trending recipe.
• This re imagination of Lil Jon.
• It's homecoming mum season and comments sections are filled with those who get it and those (like me) who just do not. 

VIRAL VIDS

• Doesn't matter what your job is when your song comes on.
• You know... I do trust this kid as my meteorologist. 
• This video. These men. The Zara Larsson of it all. No. Notes.
• Chipotle opened in Korea and what a wild first customer video.
• I am intimidated by how good this many people are at rollerskating.
• You ever wanted to sit comfortably four across in a car?
• I've never seen such a perfect Dirty Dancing lift.
• Three natural phenomenons were spotlighted this week - snake rock, 3 whales, and dragon eye. I'm still really trying to understand how they're real. 

PLATFORM NEWS

• Meta has announced their own new AI agent—"Muse."
• After buying Oculus, Meta hasn't made a ton of advancements in their VR headsets... until now with this leaked new project expected to be announced soon.
• No need to collab post - you can now add posts you've been tagged in directly to your IG grid!
• Just like Adam Mosseri's transparency on IG Stories, IG's head of product, Tessa, has joined the feed dropping BTS on product launches.

MUSIC / MOVIES / TV

• We've got a full trailer for AHS (American Horror Story) 13 and the plot is kind of, sort of, maybe starting to come together.
• South Park is taking jabs immediately before the next season even starts by renaming the show "South America."
• Amazon shelved this movie called "Artificial" about AI because they thought it was too unfriendly to ChatGPT—so now that it's actually being released, you know this is going to be BIG.
• MORE Broadway heading to both big and small screens - Tony Award-winning Oh, Mary! is coming to HBO Max next year. I suspect this trend will continue. 
• We've got the first four SNL shows and I'm honestly just a bit surprised about the lack of perceived love by all the "star" power here. Except Inde Navarrette's Halloween show is going to be incredible.
• The early Emmys ceremony was this past week and the biggest standout was guest actor Ernest Harden Jr on the Pitt who SELF-SUBMITTED himself won! 
• The Spice Girls teased us this week... just to announce a new collection of their old music. WHERE'S THE TOUR?!
• I guess Kanye is back, kinda? 

SPORTS & GAMING

• The drama at the mound during the St Louis x Colorado game last weekend around a crooked hat. And how the teams responded.
• Serena and Venus had a little "I Love Girlhood" moment at the US Open. 
• And speaking of the fun at the US Open, it's caused Wimbledon to no longer issue credentials to influencers—will this become a trend?
• The NBA has dropped the designs for their latest alternate uniforms and the designs are... something.
• With so many gaming consoles moving away from physical media, Xbox is letting you have your cake, and eat it too. This is SUCH a big deal in gaming, after all of the pushback against games only being available for download.

CELEBRITY

• Snoop Dogg is hiring for an international ice cream taster to help him find the next big flavor in ice cream for his new brand.

INFLUENCER

• Samuel, the bird call expert, continues to crush it. I love when kids with special interests (like Corn Kid) get embraced by brands (and hopefully end up filling their college funds) after they go viral. 
• Is Vanessa Van D the new Rebecca Black? (Except the internet is being MUCH nicer to her right now than it ever was to Rebecca Black—also, this song is catchy AF).
• Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman concluded their press tour for Practical Magic 2 with Jake Shane on his podcast, and if there was ever a moment to squash any doubt that Jake Shane has made it, this would be it.
• Streamer N3on is doing an "infinite" live stream - except it's all AI-generated content. It will be interesting to see what this does for him and his sub count.

BRANDS

• Calvin Klein x Sadie Sink.
• 7 Brew did a collab with NeeDoh to make "Brew Dohs" and people lined up FOR HOURS to get one.
• Columbia's Fax for Fleece activation is so smart—and using Ken Eurich for it? So good.
• George Kittle x Chubbies.
• Juicy Couture x Crown Royal.
• Did you know Tom Hanks has his own coffee brand? Well, they're selling pumpkin spice at 7-Eleven. 
• Girl Scouts are not just selling human cookies this year, thanks to their partnership with Bark.
• Apple dropped their latest lineup including the foldable phone everyone expected—but also the iPhone 18 Pro in a new color... burgundy.
• A24 x Dior x Sabrina Carpenter (and a bunch of other celebs). It will be interesting to see where this goes. 
• Panda Express is diversifying its menu offerings with popcorn chicken.
• Sydney Sweeney is nearly naked in another ad...this time for a new sports betting and prediction markets app.
• Role Model x Hydro Flask feels SO Gen Z-targeted in the best way.

COMING SOON

• Hispanic Hertiage Month starts on the 15^th and brands are alreadyyyyy showing their lack of DEI.
• I expect chatter this weekend and next week as more people see Practical Magic 2 (and the chatter might not be pretty based on some early reviews).
• Monday night is the Primetime Emmy Awards! Awards season is starting!
• DWTS (Dancing With the Stars) kicks off on Tuesday.
• Traitors: New Blood with IRL people premiers on Thursday along with Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

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

Xoxo,

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

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