aw shit
🦀 Tom Hollands + $50m trex + python pizza + ikea marathon + gummybear anniversary + trader joes v aldi rave + swift dog + cats vs jd vance + time 100 creators list 🦀
Welcome to Silence, Brand!, a tri-weekly potluck of internet absurdity at the intersection of brand marketing and internet culture written by a collective of award-winning digital marketing professionals. If you like what we do, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Welcome back to brands and the people who love (and side-eye) them <3
As we settle into the middle of the week, the internet is still doing what it does best: making diarrhea jokes
Two men named Tom Holland finally met to recreate the Spider-Man pointing meme (because of course they did). A mystery bidder dropped $50.1 million on a T. rex named “Gus,” proving that when you’re that rich, “impulse buy” takes on Jurassic proportions. And a Florida pizzeria started accepting live pythons as currency, which is either a health-code nightmare or the most Florida sentence ever written—possibly both.
Meanwhile, the brands were cooking (literally): McDonald’s stirred up discourse with a divisive new Caesar sauce, Buffalo Wild Wings committed to popping candy ranch, and IKEA announced a 17-lap in-store marathon, because nothing says “cardio” like sweating your meatballs off next to a Billy bookcase.
And if you need a new reason to feel old, yesterday marked 20 years of the YouTube classic, Gummybear! 💚
Throw in a Trader Joe’s vs. Aldi dance party turning an April Fools’ bit into an actual rave and you’ve got a week where the bit is the business plan.
omg is that …
the pope AND lida bida boda butt (rip) in Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick’s quarterly Trend Report: Trend Report™??? [spoiler: it is]
this is one of the most thorough and comprehensive recaps of the last 3 months.
do yourself a favor and spring for the paid version that includes —
9 essays
3 data deep dives based on essays
16 pages of predictions and takeaways
4 pages of talent, entertainers, and media properties to keep an eye on
AND ANOTHER KILLER RESOURCE:
Rachel Karten’s Q2 Brand Social Trend Report featuring insights from some of the top players in the brand social world (including our very own Dejaih Smith)
So grab your iced coffee (Parke x Dunkin tumbler optional), silence your notifications, and let’s get into it…
🦀📈 TODAY’S POLL
📲🦀 Viral Topics
Did famous cat lady Taylor Swift get a dog with husband Travis Kelce? (NBC News)
Swifties are convinced the newlyweds have welcomed a fluffy new family member after Travis Kelce was spotted traveling with a white dog. While neither Taylor nor Travis has confirmed the rumors, fans are already treating the mystery pup as the couple’s latest era and Taylor’s possible first publicly known dog. Important to note that Deuxmoi’s coverage of the event with the verbiage “alleged dog” is going viral just as much as the event its self.
First Avenue hosts ‘Trader Joe’s vs. Aldi’ dance party, turning April Fools’ joke into reality (MPR News)
The grocery store rivalry has officially left the checkout aisle. Minneapolis’ iconic First Avenue is hosting a Trader Joe’s vs. Aldi-themed dance party, inviting fans of each chain to settle the debate on the dance floor. It’s another sign that grocery store fandom is evolving.
This cat meme account is officially bullying JD Vance all the way to court (Queerty)
A satirical Instagram account dedicated to trolling JD Vance with cat memes has found itself at the center of a First Amendment lawsuit. The creator claims she was barred from attending a public vice presidential event because of her posts, raising questions about political satire, free speech, and just how powerful a meme account can become.
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Florida Restaurant Giving Away Python Pizzas To Anyone Who Brings Them A Snake They Can Use To Make One (Brobible)
At the Florida Python Challenge, hunters are culling invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades, and an Everglades City eatery, Wildman’s Pizza, Pasta and Python, is offering a free “python pizza” in exchange for any snake brought in. Owner Dustin Crum accepts pythons as “currency,” serves python and iguana toppings and sells products made from the animals’ skin, bones and fat, noting health‑code rules affect how he charges.
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Tom Holland meets namesake and sparks Spider-Man meme frenzy (MSN)
After years of confusing search engines and fans alike, actor Tom Holland finally met historian Tom Holland, immediately recreating the iconic Spider-Man pointing meme. The wholesome crossover sent social media into a frenzy, proving that sometimes the internet’s favorite joke is simply watching two people with the same name lean into the bit.
