Creator and influencer trends brand marketers need to know about right now

Welcome to Ad Age’s influencer marketing news roundup. Each week, we’ll be highlighting the latest developments at the intersection between brands and the creator economy, including new partnerships between brands and creators, notable new features across social media platforms and the growth of creator-led businesses. Sign up for our influencer marketing newsletter here. Have tips or news to share about influencer marketing and the creator economy? Email Gillian Follett at gillian.follett@adage.com. Also read: TikTok creators call out shady brands New deals Duracell, Ariana Madix and Ann Maddox: Duracell released a sequel to its June 2023 collaboration with “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix, continuing to capitalize on the central role that batteries played in her split with fellow cast member and longtime boyfriend Tom Sandoval. The battery brand’s latest allusion to Sandoval’s cheating scandal features his former personal assistant Ann Maddox delivering Madix a box loaded with Duracell batteries and cheekily telling viewers, “By the way, I always bought the batteries”—a nod to Sandoval’s infamous attempt to justify his infidelity by accusing Madix of never keeping their home stocked with batteries or other household supplies. Also: Ariana Madix and her ex’s former assistant star in new ad @duracell Ann buys her own batteries, too. And trust her, different is good. 🔋🧡🖤🖤 @ariana madix #annmaddox ♬ original sound - Duracell Ring, @Winston_Da_Ween, Tymay Lay and more: Along with its video doorbells, Ring also sells indoor cameras that allow pet parents to keep an eye on their fur babies when they’re out of the house. Those pet parents are the target audience for the home security brand’s “Ring Pet Portraits” campaign, which invites pet owners to share photos or videos of their pets captured via a Ring camera for a chance to have their dog, cat or other critter star in a future Ring commercial. The brand will donate $10 per submission to the ASPCA and local U.S. animal shelters. Ring partnered with Drew Barrymore, who has seven pets of her own, to announce the fundraising campaign, and partnered with both “petfluencers” including @Winston_Da_Ween and @AGuyandAGolden and pet-owning creators, such as Tymay Lay, to promote the online competition. @winston_da_ween You guys better remember us when you're famous #ad When you post a video or picture with you and your pet using #RingPets on Instagram or TikTok, @Ring will pledge a $10 donation, up to $500,000 to support the ASPCA and animal shelters across the country that are in need, to keep more animals in loving homes. Think your pet is destined for fame? Honestly, same. Every eligible submission using #contest in addition to #RingPets ♬ original sound - WINSTON_DA_WEEN Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here Hellmann’s and Sigourney Nuñez: “Blueberry milk nails” were last summer’s viral manicure trend—and this summer, Hellmann’s is hoping its “Mayo Mani,” inspired by its new Chipotle Mayo, will fill the same role. The Unilever-owned brand tapped artist and content creator Sigourney Nuñez to come up with the design for the Mayo Mani, which includes milky white nails ringed in orange, along with an accent nail featuring the blue bow of the Hellmann’s logo. And over the weekend, the brand invited New York influencers (and Nuñez, of course) to a pop-up to get their own mayo-inspired manicures. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sigourney Nuñez (@nailartbysig) Levi’s, Orville Peck, Violet Chachki and more: Levi’s is embracing the pop culture renaissance of country music and western fashion—as well as “LGBTQIA+ rodeo culture from the ’70s to today”—for its Pride Month campaign. The clothing company teamed up with a group of LGBTQ+ influencers and artists to promote its new rodeo-inspired collection, including country artist Orville Peck, “RuPaul's Drag Race” winner Violet Chachki and pop singer-songwriter Bronze Avery, among several others. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Levi's (@levis) Also read: Behind Levi’s new dance campaignSeed, Swehl and Molly Baz: After breastfeeding platform Swehl’s billboard featuring Molly Baz, a cook and content creator, was removed from New York’s Times Square by billboard company Clear Channel Outdoor for being too “inappropriate,” probiotic brand Seed swooped in over the weekend to bring Baz’s ad back to Times Square via a different digital outdoor display with Lightyear Media, Katherine Grego, Lightyear's VP of sales, confirmed to Ad Age. Seed offered its Times Square billboard with Lightyear to Baz and Swehl through the first week of June. The Swehl ad is accompanied by an adjacent screen reading, “Dear Molly, Thankfully we’re not (lactose) intolerant”—a reference to the “lactation cookies” for breastfeeding moms that Baz promotes on the billboard. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Seed (@seed) Social media screenshot TikTok tests hour-long videos: TikTok is once again expanding its maximum video length, this time doubling its previous length limit from 30 minutes—which TikTok started piloting with select users in January—to 60 minutes, according to a screenshot from social media consultant Matt Navarra. The new max video length is a far cry from TikTok’s original seven-second limit, which the platform has steadily extended over the past few years. Post by @mattnavarra View on Threads Threads pilots a TweetDeck-esque tool: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week revealed the company is testing a “pinned columns” feature that closely resembles the TweetDeck feature (now rebranded as “X Pro”) of rival platform X, formerly Twitter. Meta’s introduction of the new tool is likely another attempt to woo more brands and creators to Threads. Access to the previously free dashboard tool on X requires a subscription to X Premium. Post by @zuck View on Threads Instagram creators offer their POV: Threads’ sister platform Instagram has launched “Creator POV,” an interview series where Instagram head Adam Mosseri invites content creators to discuss their career growth and offer feedback on their experience using the platform. The first interview features comedy creator and actress Young Ezee, who requested Mosseri adjust Instagram’s Collabs feature to allow creators to move collab posts from their grid to the Reels tab. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators) TikTok of the week @senkowow Little john pls answer i need help #galvanizedsteel #homedesign #littlejohn #aunt #ecofriendly #woodveneer #renovation #trending ♬ original sound - Justin If you’re wondering why your For You page is suddenly filled with people talking about “galvanized square steel” and “environmentally-friendly wood veneer,” the short answer is that it’s the latest absurd trend to hit TikTok. The more detailed explanation, though, is that those building materials are frequently included in bizarre remodeling videos from TikTok account “Home Design.” The account, which currently has more than 1.6 million followers, shares daily computer-generated animations of surreal space-saving home redesigns, from transforming a “triangular coffin room” into a “fully functional house” to a renovation of a 0.1 square meter (or roughly 1 square foot) apartment. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Threadspotting Post by @havanattan View on Threads More creator and influencer content—including the “PR haul” posts ubiquitous on TikTok and Instagram—is finding its way to Threads. Several beauty creators have shared photos or videos of products gifted to them by brands over the past few weeks, including the one above. Contributing: Phoebe Bain Follow us on social media X Bluesky Instagram LinkedIn YouTube

Creator and influencer trends brand marketers need to know about right now

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