While 2023 was the year of Barbie and the ‘swifties’, 2024 will be remembered as the year that Charlie XCX inspired a ‘brat summer’. Or will it? Just as the marketing community started dissecting the implications of brat, along comes a transgender influencer called Jools Lebron, with her ‘demure’ and ‘mindful’ outlook on life.
For anyone yet to discover Lebron, her social presence was completely transformed by a single 38 second TikTok video in which she lectures fellow “divas” on the importance of being “very demure, very mindful”. An overnight sensation, the video went viral and has so far driven Lebron’s TikTok following to around 1.9m followers.
Clearly, the success of the video represents a spontaneous reaction to the highly-polished and marketing driven trends that preceded Lebron’s arrival on the scene. And the message to marketers is that they need to be ready to pivot instantly.
One brand that immediately saw an opportunity is US mobile network Verizon, which has become the first company to tap into the ‘demure’ craze. The company collaborated with Lebron on a short video that sees the demure diva discuss her phone habits and urge others to upgrade. In the first day, it racked up 120,000 reactions.
Leslie Berland, Verizon’s chief marketing officer, said the brand took the decision to “jump right in. Jools brought to life the energy of Verizon and our phone trade-in programme in the unique, captivating way only she can. We’re thrilled to be Jools’ first big brand partner on TikTok, and we’re loving the excitement from our customers.”
It’s highly likely that Barbie, Taylor Swift and Charlie XCX will still be around when the demure craze has faded, but it’s a reminder that digital-first content can instantly transform the social narrative. For brands that can move swiftly and authentically, this can represent a highly effective guerrilla marketing opportunity.
