Drumstick is going nuts on TikTok
Nothing says “core memory” like a slideshow of a Drumstick-horse hybrid named Emma scored by a bass-boosted remix of the Angry Birds theme.
Drumstick, the chocolate-dipped ice cream cone covered in peanuts that all my co-writers enjoyed when they were in elementary school, has taken over my FYP with fever-dream-level shitposts, and I’m obsessed.
For the past several months, Drumstick has been cranking out insane TikTok content that feels like they hired an Instagram meme page admin, said “be yourself” and then fired their entire legal team (/pos). Their page is primarily dominated by original, absurdist content using base-boosted audios rather than simply adhering to cookie-cutter trends. It’s refreshing, to say the least.
Drumstick has particularly mastered the absurdist bait-and-switch formula that defines the current iteration of Gen Z humor, stopping scrolls with unassuming “ADHD Trap” content before bitch-slapping the viewer with an imposed reference to an unrelated meme—in Drumstick’s case, a serenade from beloved cat-humanoid Mr. Peebles.
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It’s worth noting that Drumstick’s shift toward creating this type of content is out of necessity. Drumstick is starting with a disadvantage when it comes to Gen Z marketing, lacking the established credibility it has drawn on when advertising to previous generations. Schools in the U.S. removing peanuts from lunchrooms following the nationwide increase in allergies are a likely cause for Gen Z’s decreased awareness of the brand. The oversaturated ~nostalgia marketing~ tactic that often satiates millennials doesn’t fit the bill when targeting a generation that did not grow up eating Drumsticks in the school cafeteria.
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It seems like we rarely see SMMs given this level of agency by an established brand with deep roots offline, which sucks because this is obviously what works! Drumstick’s TikTok account has a total of over 20 million total likes, and their videos regularly garner millions of views.
There's a huge misconception that Gen Z marketers admire chaotic social strategy because it's shallow and low-hanging for us, which is... offensive to say the least.
Young marketers are drawn toward this style of advertising because it rejects the traditional marketing dynamic, placing the brand amongst the audience instead of on a stage—an innovation in marketing and community development exclusive to organic social.
It goes a long way in showing potential consumers that you’ve worked to reach them in an organic, authentic way. My generation has spent our entire lives developing our digital bullshit detectors; we don’t care about chaos, we care about effort. Unhinged shitposting is obviously not the ideal solution for every Gen Z-focused brand, but giving your social team the space to put their expertise into finding that niche for your brand totally is!
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I feel like Drumsticks fall into the category of ice cream that everyone ignores when they walk through the grocery store, opting for heavy-hitters like Ben & Jerry’s or—in moments of weakness—Klondike. However, in the spirit of supporting our troops on the front lines of social innovation (and tax-deductible business expenses), today I purchased a 12-pack of Lil’ Drums that proved to be a hit at this week’s board game night.
It’s certainly no elementary school lunchroom, but I think sitting in your college dorm at 12 a.m. overanalyzing a Weird Barbie-coded ice cream fairy is a pretty memorable place to enjoy your first Drumstick too.
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