Your ATTN Please | Monday, 15 September

September 15, 2025

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Grillo’s Pickles went viral for showing pickles the Statue of Liberty.

Nutter Butter got millions of views for telling the life story of Aiden the cookie. Is this content stupid af? Yes. Do people eat it up (no pun intended)? Also yes. Because they’re tired. They’re broke. And the world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket. So if you can bring a smile to someone’s face, that’s absolute gold. And right now, brands leaning into the weird and ridiculous aren’t just making people laugh—they’re earning cultural equity.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

FB brings back pokes (again), TikTok Shop tries to boost live shopping in US & Borderlands4 is the balm we all need right now

Facebook: stop trying to make Pokes happen. They’re not going to happen.

I’m not sure what they’re doing over at Meta, or what compelled someone to give the executive order to try and make Pokes a thing… again… which they already tried to revive, in 2017… and last year. But hey, shoot your shot I guess, even when you’ve already been rejected, twice, by everyone. As explained by FB:

“See who poked you and find other friends to poke at www.facebook.com/pokes. You’ll be able to see your pokes count with friends grow each time you poke each other, while you can also dismiss pokes from the list.”

PLEASE for the love of god, can we not give the men another way to bother us outside of fire emoji reacting and liking stories?

TikTok wants sellers on TikTok Shop to livestream on the weekend.

The e-commerce platform is incentivising sellers to livestream on the weekend by offering to co-fund coupons on products in a push to get weekend-live-shopping events to catch on in the US market. Apparently, live shopping is already huge in East Asia, with gamified shopping formats that keep buyers highly engaged. But this hasn’t picked up in the same way in the US, hence the push by TikTok to ramp it up.

While livestream selling can be a lot of effort, it’s proven to be lucrative: Pop Mart, the maker of Labubus and other blind-box products, notched an estimated 85% of its June TikTok Shop sales from livestreamed content. Sooo it may be worth considering if you’re in that space.

The internet is the worst place to be right now. Borderlands 4 turns off your brain and turns on the fun.

NGL y’all. This week has me struggling. Watching people d*e on our feeds should never feel normal, no matter how common it becomes. So, sometimes you need some brain-numbing media that IS NOT on social media. Borderlands 4 is that brain-numbing media.

Is it artistically creative? No. Profound in its narrative? Not at all. Innovative in its gameplay? Still no. Fun? Absolutely. And honestly, that’s what we all need right now.

Go check it out x

DEEP DIVE

The Naked Gun: How a spoof revival proves that silliness sells

The Naked Gun (2025) is the dumbest movie I've seen in years. Give me 30 more sequels.

Just some quick context, especially if you were born in the 21st century. The Naked Gun is a crime/spoof-slapstick comedy film series. This new entry is the series' first in 31 years. The original trilogy was led by Leslie Nielsen (rest in power) while this legacy sequel stars Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen's character.

Going in, I was ready to cringe so hard my soul combusted. But honestly, I don't think I've ever laughed harder in a movie theatre (especially at one scene involving a windshield, but I won't spoil that for you).

But look - this isn't a movie review, and I'm not gonna get all "you kids get off my lawn" by telling you how we need to return to "the good ol' days" of comedy films. But this film's defied audience and critic expectations. And as I watched Neeson dress as a girl scout and lament the "Janet Jackson Super Bowl", a thought crossed my mind: spoof and slapstick comedies are supposedly "dead." But that brand of humour has been killing it online for years.

Surreal humour never really died - why not make it marketable?

The Naked Gun and social media share a similar sense of humour. I'm talking dad jokes, dry wit and non sequiturs that default your brain towards laughter. While the movies have actual storylines, it's the nonsensical gags that hook people in before anything else.

Plus, as if it wasn't goofy enough, some silliness even bled into the new movie's marketing campaign. This includes a very handsy poster with Pamela Anderson, a 73-year-old Neeson doing a perfect split, and a faux-poignant PSA with Neeson asking you to help "save comedy".

Some of the most memorable social media campaigns lean into the same humour, perhaps Duolingo and Nutter Butter, most notoriously. Only a handful of posts focus on the app, but it's the company's unhinged nature online that draws people in, guiding them towards their platform.

Have a look at Grillo's Pickles, too. They just sell pickles, so seemingly don't have much to say. But when their most popular video involves showing pickles the Statue of Liberty, you know there's some gold within that goofiness.

Assaults on your funny bone

Much like social media today, a key trait of these films is their ability to overwhelm your senses. There's a joke or sight gag every few seconds. Even if most of them don't land, you're always on high alert for something to laugh at.

When you think about it, Instagram and TikTok algorithms aren't all that different. Be honest, how many of your doom scrolling sessions start with a string of memes and brain rot that suck you in, hungry for more comedic beats?

The fact is, whether it's movies or a late night scroll sesh, audiences across the board crave those endorphins. It's especially the case in this day and age, when it feels like every day there's a new reason the world's on fire. One way or another, people are drawn towards anything that sparks joy or simply just harmless fun. So why can't your campaign be one of those things?

Wait - if people love surreal humour so much, why don't more movies do it?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm no film buff, so I don't really have a confident answer. My best guess as to how we got here was that we as a society have gone through some bizarre loop-de-loop. My guess is silly, senseless comedies were hits 30 years ago, but that humour was seen as cringy by the turn of the millennium. Then social media made it big again, and now that humour's back in theatres.

It should be said, this new Naked Gun is a rarity in terms of successful spoof movies these past few decades. But with sequels to other classic spoof movies like Scary Movie, Spinal Tap and Spaceballs now in production, it's clear there's a big push to make silliness cool again.

My advice to you would be to not fight this wave of positive stupidity. The masses are craving any and every reason to smile, so if you can tap into that with your brand, why not do it? Even if you don't make clear ties to your product, you'll give people something memorable to laugh about. Whether it turns into sales or not, those experiences will carry value one way or another. :)

-Devin Pike, Copywriter

TREND PLUG

“I can’t speak on it...evil eye is real”

This trend started from a Love Island USA Season 7 reunion clip where Huda, a fan favourite outside the villa, was asked if she was seeing anyone.

Instead of answering directly, she laughed and said “I can't speak about my relationships outside the villa.” The interviewer asks why, and Huda responds with “legal reasons”, hinting she might be with someone famous.

People are remixing the audio to joke about situations where they avoid sharing details because of the “evil eye” or others wishing them bad luck. For example:

How you can jump on this trend:

Brands and creators can join by using the original audio to playfully gatekeep exciting news, products, or launches. Pair it with a playful caption about the “evil eye” or not wanting to jinx something good. The mystery keeps audiences curious and encourages engagement.

A few ideas to get you started:

  • Me when I can't spill what the next event is

  • Me when my coworker won't stop asking me about....

  • When your followers ask about a new clothing drop that's coming

- Bella Vlasich, Intern

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: He fur real blended right in
❤How wholesome: 10 year mother reunion
😊Soooo satisfying: wait what how
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: 5 ingredient dinner recipe!

ASK THE EDITOR

I've been posting about my copywriting business on Instagram, but how do I grow my account faster? - Shelley

Hey Shelley!

If you want to grow your account faster, you should try to create as much content as you can. If you're only posting a few times a week, that's not enough to get your content out there. Think about it this way. The more people see you, the more familiar you'll become. And, as you post more, you'll start creating better content. You'll slowly build an audience of people who like what you have to say. Eventually, you'll reach a tipping point where your growth speeds up as your videos get better.

That said, if you're just starting out in your business, you will get clients much faster by getting in front of people in person. Building a brand on socials is a long-term strategy, but you should also be going to industry events and networking as much as you can. This will help you grow your business while you’re building up your audience on socials.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

PSST…PASS IT ON

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