Want to be in a commercial? Make an audition tape on TikTok.

That’s the gist of several hashtag challenges brands have put out to their fans on TikTok. Rather than just partnering with a creator, brands have started tapping into their TikTok comments for casting and commercial ideas. The result has made users a part of the talent search process, driving engagement by voting for videos or highlighting creators they think deserve the spotlight, all making the final commercials feel more collaborative.

“Tapping TikTok for talent purposefully makes the casting process a formal part of a campaign, rather than just something that tends to be kept behind the scenes,” said Mike Proulx, VP of research at Forrester. “The irony is that the public-facing casting content might get greater reach on TikTok than the actual finished ad itself.”

For Old Navy, the idea started when a high schooler posted a TikTok set to Silk Sonic’s song “Fly As Me” with the caption, “We are about to get the most fire Old Navy commercial.” The comments did not disappoint, and some were shown during the spot. Old Navy ended up shooting two commercials based on social media comments.

Brands can have more engagement through social listening than by just filming a new commercial. “It all becomes much more than just a single ad, and becomes a package of content that connects channels and platforms under one campaign,” said Proulx.

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Mediation and sleep app Calm used TikTok for voice casting. The app has previously had celebrities such as LeBron James, Pink and Harry Styles read sleep stories, which are essentially bedtime stories for adults. Now the brand is finding a new voice from its TikTok fans.

“When we joined TikTok, we saw people tagging themselves as narrators a year ago,” said Monica Austin, VP of marketing at Calm. “Part of our strategy is listening to our community, so we wanted to bring this to life.” Rather than use traditional voice casting, the brand leaned into TikTok.

Calm asked users to put themselves forward as the next “Voice of Calm” with a chance to win $5,000 and record a sleep story for the app. The #NextVoiceOfCalmContest now has 3.7 million views, with submissions ranging from grocery lists and affirmations to poetry. The winner will be announced on June 7.

“The engagement level and quality of submissions has been incredible,” Austin said.

Brands have used TikTok to find talent in other ways as well. Chipotle, Gatorade and MLB have turned super-fans into creator classes to make TikTok content. In 2021, TikTok launched “TikTok Resumes,” a program where job applicants could make a TikTok video to apply for a job position at companies including Chipotle, Target and Shopify. TikTok recently added a new feature to try to help brands connect with even smaller creators with Brand Missions, which let users submit videos for a brand’s TikTok campaign. The goal of all of these efforts has been to help surface users with organic affinity for a brand, a key to making engaging TikTok content.

“We've seen influencers become major players outside of social-only platforms and there's an opportunity for brands to build and engage influencer audiences outside of TikTok to impact their business,” Danisha Lomax, senior VP and head of media and national paid social lead at Digitas, wrote in an email. “It's an opportunity for brands to consider showcasing social talent on larger activations.”

Earlier this year, State Farm posted a call on TikTok for fans to appear in a commercial. The stunt was timed to the Super Bowl and took the place of a typical Big Game commercial. The insurance brand asked fans to duet the video “showing the talents they would bring to Team State Farm” with the hashtag #TeamStateFarm. Influencers known for dancing, singing and even magic helped kick off the challenge. The hashtag racked up over 16 million views. The winner was a former model and comedian Liv Pearsall, who will appear in a national State Farm commercial later this year. She has already shown some behind-the-scenes footage to her 3.5 million TikTok followers.

Dunkin’ also sought talent for a commercial through TikTok, asking dueters to read lines provided by the company. The original post received 5.5 million views. Dunkin’ worked with a wide range of influencers to increase awareness for the #DunkinCastingCall, including snowboarders, dancers and teachers. The goal was to reach new audiences beyond Dunkin’ fans, Pete Callaro, VP of integrated marketing communication at Dunkin’, said in an email. The hashtag has reached 9 million views.

“We see our fans showing up on TikTok every day,” Callaro wrote. “We wanted to capture and amplify their go-getter spirit in our upcoming campaign.”