Top Sounds 

Our curated picks of the top sounds on TikTok

1. Taste The Goodness Of The Biscuit A supremely cooky sound. Pair with something a little unhinged. Even better— pair with our highlighted effect.
2. Negroni Sbagliato There’s just something about Emma Darcy, of House of The Dragon, pronouncing their favorite drink to order. Use this sound to express the things you enjoy.
3. Let Him Answer To Javert Mercury was in retrograde-retrograde and the tea was flowing ABUNDANTLY. This sound is the nosy energy I have been carrying through all the internet drama over the past few weeks.
4. Tough Cookie New Girl was so rich for quotable moments. Here’s one for when you can’t help but buckle to the (possibly non-existent) pressure to spill the tea.
5. Utter Bufoon Someone’s got to have used this, to sum up this year’s GOP candidates right?
6. Saranghae Mickey Mouse says ‘I love you’ in a manner that is increasingly reminiscent of a Joseon-set K-drama. That’s the sound. I cannot explain further— just know artists are having fun with it.

 Our Sound Highlight 

On A HOT GRILL

Mood: 

I evidently have a real weakness for sounds from the show New Girl, hence highlighting the ‘Tough Cookie’ sound. This trending sound works perfectly to describe what you absolutely HATE.

 Video Highlight 

First things first, a reminder that your local newsletter writer does not endorse candidates, she merely judges their TikToks. And if this TikTok from WV candidate Sydnee McElroy is anything to go by, candidates might want to consider breaking down the stakes of their race (read: local drama) for voters on TikTok. The theme of this newsletter? I love gossip!

 Effects Highlight 

This cyborg-looking vacation strut effect is popular right now. Especially when using faces that are not your own. I’d describe the vibe here as: unhinged and unbothered.

Speaking of unhinged— here’s your evil twin! Think Evil Kermit but more menacing.

 The Moment 

Issues that are at the forefront of online discourse— women in Iran

Protests erupted across Iran after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who was detained for not complying with Iran’s veiling laws. In the past week, the Iranian government has escalated its violent crackdown on protests, with numerous casualties.

These protests reflect the broader feminist movement, the frustrations of younger generations, and the history of Iranian women as political forces in the country’s history.

What is happening in Iran is not unfamiliar. Violence against women, police killings, and state violence against protestors, are issues that affect millions globally. White Western feminists have received (deserved) criticism for their responses— take French actresses’ ‘haircuts for freedom’ for example. These acts of solidarity enter a strange light when you consider France’s ban on niqabs and burqas.

This moment reminds us of how state apparatus are so often levied against the bodily autonomy of marginalized genders. How police and force are used to subdue action. How the fight for human rights, true political representation, and a world free of patriarchal control is truly global.

 The Zeitgeist 

Hot topics from across the internet

• Lena Dunham has a very inaccurate view of her public profile. There’s also just something so supremely gross about imagining your own unearned idolization by queer people.
• Ned Fulmer of the Try Guys couldn’t try staying faithful. HR and PR teams, take notes on the media company’s video statement.
  • Maybe don’t take comedic notes from SNL’s take on this internet drama.
• Republicans are on some cartoon villainy. Killing puppies, trying to compete with the town in Footloose, standing by Hitler’s car…
• Great British Bake Off had a ‘Mexican’ themed week and it was so offensive I am hereby renouncing my British citizenship.
  • Especially cursed: pronouncing guacamole ‘gwacky-molo.’
• The Miami Boys Choir went viral, specifically, a video of the choir in 2007, which delighted the internet. The lighting! The vocals! The choreo!
• Fat Bear week was in swing but fell victim to attempted voter fraud.
• Mario’s voice in The Super Mario Bros Movie trailer has unleashed an evil in this world. Or at least that’s how the internet feels. Anyway, I feel sad for those penguins in the trailer. RIP to my penguin brothers.

 The Takeaway 

Getting creative with influencer pitching.

Sometimes in influencer marketing, we get a little used to our processes. After all, it is simply far more efficient to fire off a unified pitch to influencers when trying to hire them. But every now and then, I let myself section of an influencer or two— the ones I think might have an interesting approach and I try to reverse engineer the process a little. I look at my creative request and think critically about how that influencer might best deliver the message. For example, I might know that most of the influencers I’m reaching out to can kill an explainer video but it might be far more successful if influencers X and Z did skits based on specific past videos of theirs.

While this week’s influencer marketing takeaway is a little in the weeds of our work, it brings me to the same conclusion I often run into— it is important to stay open to new ideas. Flexibility and creativity only ever help us as we strive for results across unpredictable platforms and audiences.

Made it to the end of this newsletter? Here’s a treat, African cinema and LOTR.

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