5 new TikTok trends that brands can follow

It often can be difficult to predict which TikTok trends will end up having an enduring impact on the platform, and which will simply be momentary fads. But several of the trends that have taken hold of TikTok over the past few weeks contain at least one of two key elements that tend to help a TikTok trend take off: an element of pop culture—such as a clip from a TV series or movie—or cute animals. Here are five of the most notable trends from the past few weeks, ranging from dancing animals to goofy interactions taken from movies and TV shows. If you missed our most recent round of TikTok trends, you can catch up here. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs “Do you or do you not feel bonita?” This trend stems from a clip from Fox’s animated series “Family Guy,” in which the character Chris Griffin asks the family’s anthropomorphic dog, Brian, whether he feels “bonita”—the Spanish word for “pretty”—while wearing a quinceañera dress. In the clip, Brian replies to the question with a deadpan, “I feel bonita,” and Chris excitedly responds, “Wonderful, because you look bonita!” TikTok has latched onto this audio snippet over the past week, with thousands of users creating videos set to the back-and-forth exchange to highlight things that make them “feel bonita,” such as wearing a specific makeup product or doing a skincare routine, while mouthing along to the audio. Others have taken the trend in a more sarcastic direction and captured the essence of the original scene, with one person trying to get the other to do something to make them “feel bonita,” from a couple wearing matching outfits to a father letting his daughter style his hair using butterfly hair clips. Several TikTok users with pets have also put an adorable spin on the trend and employed it to show off their pets wearing cute outfits—as the Los Angeles County Fire Department did in dressing a therapy dog named Jackson in a firefighter uniform. Over 141,000 videos set to the audio clip of the back-and-forth exchange have been made so far, and the hashtag #bonita has received over 53 million views in the past seven days, according to TikTok data. A handful of brands, too—including Duolingo, Ryanair and the mobile game Subway Surfers—have jumped on the trend as a humorous way to feature their mascots or brand characters. But this audio clip also offers a simple yet engaging video format for brands in the beauty, clothing and hair care spaces, among others, to show off various products that could help consumers themselves “feel bonita.” @ryanair It was never that serious 😮💨 #bonita #ryanair ♬ HEYYY WAIT A SECOND - THEREALFIERY Related: Dove challenges TikTok's viral Bold Glamour trend Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal staredown If you’ve even briefly scrolled through TikTok within the past few weeks, you’ve likely encountered at least one video featuring actor Pedro Pascal. The Chilean-American actor has become an internet heartthrob after starring in series such as “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ and HBO Max’s “The Last of Us,” as well as the subject of thousands of TikTok videos —including a plethora of “fancams,” a phenomenon which Pascal cheekily acknowledged in a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit. Now, Pascal is one of the faces of a viral TikTok trend, alongside fellow actor Nicolas Cage. The trend revolves around a scene from the 2022 movie “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” in which the duo slowly turns to look at each other with wildly different expressions—Cage’s, exasperated and incredulous, and Pascal’s, a manic grin. Tens of thousands of TikTok users thus far have used the video clip to illustrate situations in which two people have dramatically different feelings about something, accompanied by the chorus of Cas Elliot’s song “Make Your Own Kind of Music.” Users typically employ onscreen text to identify themselves with either Cage’s despair or Pascal’s elation, depending on the scenario they’re describing. For example, user @lane8998 used Cage’s expression to demonstrate how they felt “coming home from a long day of work” to find that their dog had destroyed their couch, while user @emilyinthezoo used the trend to convey her dismay, and her husband’s joy, at cargo shorts making a comeback. Several users’ videos have already organically incorporated brands, such as user @iwetmyyplants did when describing her enthusiasm for exploring the plant section at Lowe’s. Brand accounts are also playing with the trend, including Scrub Daddy and the San Diego Zoo, and creators, such as author Nicola Yoon, have made videos with the format, too. Over 225,000 total videos have been created with a CapCut template that overlays Cage and Pascal’s faces onto another video, and hashtags such as #MakeYourOwnKindOfMusic and #PedroPascalMeme have each amassed millions of views in the past week. Brands can follow other users’ lead and utilize the CapCut video template to share a lighthearted situation tied to the brand, with one person, likely the consumer, being thrilled about buying a product or doing some other brand-related activity, while their counterpart reacts with less excitement. @scrubdaddy Is it a problem? Maybe. Do I care? No. #scrubdaddy #smile #cleantok #cleaningtiktok #americasfavoritesponge #meme #pedropascal ♬ original sound - TheVincentMottola Dancing white dogs Along with Pascal, another omnipresent force in many users’ TikTok feeds lately has been a pair of animated dancing dogs. A clip of the two dogs—who originate from the 2008 movie “Barbie & the Diamond Castle,” a straight-to-DVD film starring the Mattel character—has evolved into an enduring trend that has gripped TikTok for the past month. Since the trend first emerged in late January, thousands of TikTok users have used the dancing dogs in their own videos—typically accompanied by a remix of rapper Ice Spice’s song “In Ha Mood”—to describe everything from joyful, exciting moments to largely mundane scenarios, often involving spending time with friends or family members. And others have posted videos of themselves simply copying the dogs’ choreography. Both takes on the trend have driven the hashtag #BarbieDogs to nearly 225 million total views, with 6 million of those coming in just the past week, as of writing. Several brands have utilized the dancing duo in their own content, from Tootsie Roll sharing a video of two people performing the viral dance while dressed as the brand’s namesake candy to Sony’s PlayStation and Selena Gomez’s beauty brand Rare Beauty superimposing the canines onto their videos. And other brands can easily tap into this trend by having the dogs accompany a situation related to the brand, such as eating at a restaurant, grabbing a cup of coffee or going shopping. @tootsieroll Getting away from this trend is RUFF🐶 #barbiedogsdancing #barbiedog #dawgs #barbie #trend #friends #fyp #tootsieroll ♬ Ac r7sheed - rhy 🎸🍃 🕸️ Maxwell the Cat This trend is essentially a feline version of the previous one, with a pixelated, 3D render of a black and white cat named Maxwell at the center. But instead of dancing, the cat—whose hashtag, #MaxwellTheCat, has amassed almost 600 million total views as of writing—simply rocks from side to side before spinning in a circle, set to the cheerful melody of the song “Stock Market” by Mr Weebl. TikTok users were first introduced to Maxwell in a series of videos from user @matatogames, in which the cat teams up with a 3D model of a capybara in a series of short adventures that see Maxwell and his companion perform the same rocking and spinning movements. But Maxwell’s presence on the platform has since grown to involve multiple video effects, including one fittingly named “Maxwell in the Sky” that allows users to overlay a giant version of the cat onto their videos. This video effect, specifically, propelled a Florida car repair shop, Clancy’s Auto Body, to unexpected virality, as documented in a Twitter thread by Triple Whale’s head of social, Tommy Clark. The account’s video, which pairs a simple clip of the business’s parking lot with Maxwell’s towering figure and a plea from the auto shop’s social media manager for TikTok users to “blow this [video] up so I don’t get fired,” has spawned dozens of self-referential parodies from brands such as MattressFirm, Papa John’s and Air Emirates. Another video effect, called “Maxwell the Cat,” places a smaller version of the cat’s 3D model into a user’s video, and thousands of users have used the effect for everything from having Maxwell sit beside their real-life cat to documenting him getting a tattoo. Brands can incorporate Maxwell—either in his giant form or his more cat-sized model—into their videos by jumping on the bandwagon of joking about using the video effect to make the brand’s post appeal to TikTok users, as the above examples did. Or they could just have Maxwell do his characteristic spinning and rocking movements alongside products or employees or inside of a store. @clancysautobody Job market is tough rn 😒 #bodyshoplife #shoplife #autobody ♬ オリジナル楽曲 - unicouniuni - I’m Uni. “Don’t look for me in the sunsets” This somewhat morbid trend revolves around TikTok users jokingly sharing an item or place where their soul will reside after they die, using the onscreen text, “When I die, don’t look for me in the sunsets. I’ll be in the ____.” TikTokers have already incorporated brands into this trend, often filling in that blank with a specific product that they especially enjoy, including Diet Coke or sugar cookies, or a setting, such as a lobby in the online game Roblox. The format of this trend is fairly straightforward, beginning with a video clip of the user followed by a series of images of the product or place they (sarcastically) want to embody after their death, with the entire video set to a sped-up version of the song “It’s Called: Freefall” by the band Rainbow Kitten Surprise. TikTok users have already created over 930,000 videos using this audio, and hashtags such as #WhenIDie and #DontLookForMe have each garnered millions of views over the past week. With users already involving brands in this trend, the video format naturally lends itself to brand participation and is an easy but trendy way for brands to showcase a product, location or other things that represents the brand. For example, fast food chain Jack in the Box matched the humorous energy of the trend with several pieces of risque fan art, while fashion designer @joeando used the format to highlight several of the outfits they’ve created. Brands can also use the trend as an opportunity to comment on users’ takes on the trend that feature the brand. Roblox could easily engage with the above user’s video mentioning one of the game’s lobbies, for instance. @joeando can i make u a fit? 👦🏻✂️ #fashion #diy ♬ It’s Called: Freefall (Sped Up) - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

5 new TikTok trends that brands can follow

Featured Stories