Tik Tok‘s Met takeover

Every year, the Met Gala has been met with the rallying cry from viewers, “Stop inviting influencers!” So it may come as a surprise that this year The Gala went one step further by partnering with TikTok, essentially guaranteeing influencer attendance. But, on the day of the event, there were fewer influencers than predicted, and all of them firmly entrenched in the TikTok fashion hall of fame. TikTok had pulled out all the stops. And while some fans were originally upset, wanting to see instead the costumes of their favourite celebrities, the unprecedented access that the app gave to the event meant that the Met Gala was publicised like never before. 

TikTok employed its influencers to document the entire occasion, from the pre-party to the afters, to the day-later reviews of each and every ludicrous outfit. The influx of influencers at The Gala was an inspired decision – 13.6M total viewers tuned in to Vogue’s TikTok LIVE, and since April 29, the number of #MetGala posts on TikTok have increased 71%.

TikTok, unfortunately, might have made everything a bit too personal. One influencer was cancelled at the Gala, comparing herself to the famously out of touch Marie Antoinette. She swiftly received angry comments and took the video down. One thing is for certain – TikTok lives up to its ability to democratise and de-shroud proceedings, removing mysticism in order to make them accessible for everyone. That does also mean that celebrities stop being untouchable, become more relatable, and therefore more responsible for their faults. 

Our take? TikTok is an excellent tool for getting closer to fans and audiences, but brands need to do so with caution. Understanding their audience is what got TikTok so much kudos from viewers, who were thrilled to see smaller-name but incredibly fashionable TikTok influencers in attendance, rather than just big name influencers not famous for their style. Getting to know your audience and your viewers is what leads to that kind of synergy, rather than cancellation-worthy missteps. 

When quiet luxury gets loud

Quiet Luxury and its symbols have always been the playground of, well, luxury. Gucci has been rocking the tweeds and the elderflower presse for years. However, despite the trend’s popularity, tides are turning against the elite. Hailey Baylee was cancelled this year at the Met Gala for using a sound from the Marie Antoinette film, and debutante Laura Cosima’s TikTok comments are flooded with people demanding her to acknowledge her family history (and privilege). 

What J2O have done is add a healthy level of ribbing and criticism to the conversation, dropping an ad spot that wouldn’t look amiss on TikTok influencer GstaadtGuy’s timeline – a Vlogger parody of posh culture so successful that he’s been sponsored by luxury fashion house Loro Piana. Vlogger Tamsin Amy, too, has found success by putting out parodies of Range Rover driving ‘rich aunts’, so much so that her main sponsors are Liberty’s and Fortnum & Mason! Life imitates art, it seems. 

J2O is definitely using Quiet Luxury, but it’s not condoning it, the same way Hayley Bailey and Laura Cosima were. Instead, it’s taking a cultural zeitgeist and putting its own spin on it, resulting in an ad that acknowledges the current trends but doesn’t encourage them. A clever move from them – bottoms up!

Is it time for tea?

If J2O is looking into the past, then PG Tips has its eye on the future. The tea brand is going through its first rebrand in years, calling in big names like Steve McQueen and Ashley Walters from Top Boy in order to demonstrate that tea isn’t just a drink of fuddy duddy fogeys – it’s actually aligned with young people. 

While people often complain that the UK has stopped being a nation of tea drinkers, there’s a growing trend of people bucking coffee as their favourite drink. Being linked to ill health, overstimulation, and anxiety, the future of coffee looks like it might start going down the drain as people switch back over to the drink that started it all – tea. Interest has swung toward drinks like South American yerba mate, Japanese matcha, and South Asian chai as less-stimulating alternatives of a high caffeinated hit. 

PG Tips is leaning into that desire for a quiet moment in the ad. Instead of pushing coffee’s hyping up abilities, the endless go-go-go that the drink is associated with, PG Tips is leaning into how tea can allow you a private moment to yourself when you drink it, coupled with the slow ritual of waiting for a brewing cup over shocking instant granules in hot water. While it’s too early to tell if the rebrand will be everyone’s cup of… tea, we’re still interested in how PG Tips has taken a stand against hustle culture in a way that is uniquely British.