Takeaway: Call us soft, but his prank trend was hard to watch, especially as many of the videos involved children. It’s more fun to laugh with people than at them!
4. Gen Z edits of marketing videos
Loud breathing. Lots of "ums," "ahs," and "oks." Awkward pauses and strange body language. These are all elements of one of the most popular social media memes of 2024. Yes, really.
It started when realtor Mike Hedge asked his social media editor, Teresa, a Gen Z-er, to edit a video of him showing a property. What Teresa made was this video, which got almost six million likes on Instagram. Playing into the apparent differences between Gen Z and millennials, it’s easy to see why this took off.
Since this meme targeted marketing videos specifically, it was a field day for businesses and organizations on social media. Everyone from movie theaters to airlines to higher education got in on the action.
Takeaway: This trend was fun because it subverted expectations. However, once your expectations are subverted, they can’t be subverted again. That’s why this trend felt old quickly. Plus, generational humor can feel forced or even mean-spirited if it's not aligned with a brand’s audience and authentic tone.
5. Willy Wonka experience disaster
When a Willy Wonka reboot premiered this year, it inspired a Willy Wonka "immersive experience" in Scotland. And this inspired a world of memes.
The "immersive experience" was so poorly executed that people compared it to the Fyre Festival disaster. Bad sets, creepy costumes, and AI-generated scripts and marketing materials all contributed to a very public fiasco. Attendees filmed the event and that footage quickly went viral.
Willy Wonka experience disaster - 2024 social media memeImage source
Players of games like The Sims, Fortnite, and Animal Crossing hopped on the social media trend and showed their in-game creations inspired by the event.
Takeaway: The disaster of the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience reminds brands of the dangers of overhyped events. While marketing, especially assisted by AI, can promise a dazzling experience, you don’t want your actual event to fall short in an age when everyone can document it.
