Last month, a video on TikTok showcasing a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries amassed over 400 million views and 48 million likes. While this is not the first time a seemingly simple video has gone viral on the app, it has left many with a seemingly simple question: Why?
The video’s enormous success serves as a reminder of Generation Z’s significant power as consumers. Known for their pursuit of authenticity in a world filled with carefully crafted content and brand messaging, Generation Z has made this value a defining feature of their identity, shaping how they interact with products and media. Because of this, businesses that want to appeal to this particular consumer base have to balance the market’s fast-paced, trend-driven character with the demand for authenticity.
Yet, businesses trying their hardest to market to Gen Z face an enormous challenge: There’s no playbook for authenticity.
In trying to market to Gen Z, many firms have concentrated on highlighting their dedication to social justice causes and implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into their advertising campaigns in the middle of this changing landscape. While these efforts may resonate with some members of Generation Z, they often ring hollow. Superficial displays of progressivism can feel disingenuous, alienating the generation.
Just last week, after facing harsh criticism for releasing an Instagram video with transgender influencer Iván González Ranedo, better known by the stage name Samantha Hudson, Doritos Spain ended their collaboration. This was in response to the reemergence of Ranedo’s past remarks on child sexual assault, the traditional family, and capitalism. Despite the termination, many have called for a boycott of the brand.
Last year, Bud Light found itself in hot water after a similar controversy when the brand collaborated with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In a move that targeted Gen Z consumers, who are consuming 20 percent less alcohol than millennials did when they were the same age, the move backfired as the conservative backlash of the promotion was not alleviated by a rise in purchases by Gen Z. Earnings disclosed by its parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, showed a 17 percent decline in sales to U.S. retailers “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”
Despite these disastrous attempts to market to Gen Z, there are some success stories.
The latest example of this comes with the craze regarding Stanley tumblers. Although the cup maker has been in business for over a century, Stanley’s cups have historically been marketed to outdoorsy and blue-collar individuals. However, after a rebrand and a recommendation from a shopping-focused Instagram account called The Buy Guide, its “Quencher” 40-ounce tumblers, now in new colors, materials, and finishes, became highly sought after by customers.
A major selling point for the product is its durability. In another viral video on TikTok depicting the results of a car fire from November 2023, the user shows viewers the wreckage of her totaled car, and pulls from the scorched cupholder her unscathed Stanley Quencher — it even still has ice in it. Similarly, just last month, another video surfaced in which a woman claimed that her Stanley cup saved her life after it deflected a stray bullet away from her.
Due to the craze, the drinkware brand was a top seller during the Christmas season, and, after a limited edition pink Starbucks Stanley cup was released in January, even led to fights in Targets across the country.
Much can be learned through this mayhem about the shopping habits of Gen Z. As advertisers grapple with the challenge of engaging the generation, they must recognize that true originality transcends fleeting trends and superficial gestures.
Rather than chasing the coattails of a fleeting social media trend or pandering to a generation’s assumed political beliefs, companies should focus on the defining aspects of their product — be it chocolate-covered strawberries looking delicious or the durability of a Stanley tumbler. Gen Z wants the real thing.
