Nicki Minaj and Gag City—how brands are joining the AI-generated trend on X

Pack your pink bags, brands: It’s time to head to #GagCity for Nicki Minaj's album drop tomorrow. On Thursday, brands, including Chili's, Target and Hulu, were beckoned to join a movement in which fans created AI-generated art to show their love for Minaj’s new album “Pink Friday 2.” The rapper’s fans started the trend by reacting to Minaj’s post on X (formerly Twitter) teasing the album with a pink, cyberpunk alert and #Gag City. Creators ran to AI image-generators to make virtual representations of Gag City, which led to multiple posts on X depicting a glossy, blush-colored utopia. Of course, brands, including Oreo, KFC, Converse and Roku, shared their own AI-generated versions of the pink-filled city, with their logos plastered around town. The Gag City trend was surely a welcome sight for X, which has had a bumpy relationship with brands in recent weeks. Some advertisers have paused spending on the platform amid a fight with owner Elon Musk, while some brands have pulled back on organic posts, too. Approaching #GagCity pic.twitter.com/l3ypFnmshU— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) December 7, 2023 Gag City is a play on “gagged,” which is a popular internet slang term originating from the LGBTQ+ community. It refers to something so amazing, or shocking, that it leaves you speechless, usually in a positive way. With her X post, telling fans they’re “approaching Gag City” in the hours leading up to her album drop, Minaj essentially promised them they’re in for a musical experience that will put them at a loss for words. Fans, eagerly awaiting the album’s launch, spun the concept of traveling to Gag City into a literal journey to a Minaj-themed queendom. They spent the past several hours flocking to AI image generators to turn that fictional city into a reality—or at least a reality on X. It's unclear what AI tools fans and brands used, but there are several easily accessible image generators. OpenAI's DALL-E is among the more popular image-makers, and brands have access to enterprise versions of the technology. The call for brands to join Gag City came from a fan account for the rapper’s radio show “Queen Radio,” @QueenRadioLIVE. The account, which has 57,000 followers, posted AI-generated art of a rosy, metallic city filled with pink vehicles and pink-clad pedestrians. Soon, more images were posted from the same account, showing shopping destinations for top brands inside the fake city. Target, Taco Bell, Hulu, Oreo and Chili’s (which has a close connection with Minaj and her fans, known as “Barbz”) were a few of the first brands the account welcomed to Gag City. Welcome to Gag City, @Target. #GagCity #PinkFriday2🎀 pic.twitter.com/PHBidcyKIG— Queen Radio (@QueenRadioLIVE) December 7, 2023 Welcome to Gag City, @Chilis. Gag City currently opened 4 Chilis locations. Come by for Barbaritas (only available in Gag City). #GagCity #PinkFriday2🎀 pic.twitter.com/6ee3OFxe1N— Queen Radio (@QueenRadioLIVE) December 7, 2023 Welcome to Gag City, @hulu. #GagCity #PinkFriday2🎀 pic.twitter.com/Yxl0Q6HJGu— Queen Radio (@QueenRadioLIVE) December 7, 2023 Oreo, for example, reposted the image of its pink storefront topped with a giant cookie with the comment, “what’s tea” ("tea," of course, referring to gossip or a juicy piece of information). KFC replied to its Gag City invitation with a comment simply stating, “We appreciate the warm welcome.” what’s tea https://t.co/ZXkdEd6OiM— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) December 7, 2023 The trend quickly spread beyond @QueenRadioLIVE’s account as other X users shared their own AI imagery of brands’ hot pink stores. Mentioned brands began engaging with those posts, too, including Converse, which responded to a user’s image of its multi-level storefront by writing, “Pink Chucks = the official footwear of Gag City.” Pink Chucks = the official footwear of Gag City 💖 https://t.co/mdEN4uI5QY— Converse (@Converse) December 7, 2023 Pretzels are baking, can you smell them??? 🥨🤪 https://t.co/rvyGKeaYSO— Auntie Anne’s (@AuntieAnnes) December 7, 2023 LET’S GO TO THE BEACH BEACH ?!!!! #gagcity 💖 https://t.co/ouRnk9XnYh— Swedish Fish (@SwedishFish) December 7, 2023 Brands that weren’t featured in either @QueenRadioLIVE’s welcome messages, or posts from other X users, took matters into their own hands, and moved into Gag City themselves. For example, Wheat Thins established a wheat farm in a bubblegum pink void; Urban Decay brought some of its beauty products into the city; and Roku put a Gag City twist on its “Roku City” screensaver. how are barbz gonna eat?💅💅… y’all need farmers! #GAGCITY pic.twitter.com/Y8cOI6J4Nc— Wheat Thins (@WheatThins) December 7, 2023 PSA: All Nighter Setting Spray has been granted entry into #GAGCITY 💖 barbz are so real for this 🫡 pic.twitter.com/QhhvrsJcEc— Urban Decay (@UrbanDecay) December 7, 2023 BREAKING: The Roku City delegation has arrived in Gag City. pic.twitter.com/fYZmbIocWt— Roku (@Roku) December 7, 2023

Nicki Minaj and Gag City—how brands are joining the AI-generated trend on X

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