pre'chella
🦀 parrot submarine + gog revival + lip reading at a pacers game + scrember + blue shirt kid gets sturdy + author is secret doctor + chocolate pringles + really bad photographer + IG comment edits 🦀
🎡 twas the night before ‘chella
🦀 and all through the sea
🌵 not a creature was stirring
▶️ except for youtubeTV
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.
You made it to Friday, Sailor!
Here’s what you might have missed:
All roads lead to Olive Garden (if you have the right compass)
A parrot named Bebe made waves by exploring the Bahamas in a custom-built mini submarine, sparking both awe and debate about animal adventures.
The “Little Green Alien Cat” meme is brain-hacking feeds everywhere and finally going mainstream.
Courtside drama went viral as a Pacers couple’s animated exchange became a lip-reading meme, only for the couple to reveal it was just their normal banter.
Meanwhile, the surreal “Screamber” meme is screaming its way into comment sections, and the “Blue Shirt Kid” is getting sturdy in anime-edited dance-offs, proving that the only thing more viral than a meme is a meme remix.
🦀📈 TODAY’S POLL
📲🦀 Viral Topics
Five questions for the guys who made a compass that points to the Times Square Olive Garden (The Verge)
Jason Goldberg and Steve Nasopoulos, in collaboration with Glub Glub Labs, built a novelty compass that points exclusively to the Times Square Olive Garden. The offline device uses an Arduino Nano, SAM‑M10Q GPS, a gyro, a stepper motor and onboard trigonometry (powered by salvaged disposable‑vape batteries) and is being offered in small batches with a waitlist of over 2,000 people. The tea is: they received a cease and desist from Olive Garden, but got a DM from the social team saying to disregard the cease and desist, and the marketing team loves them.
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Foodies Around The World Are Pouring Melted Chocolate On Pringles. Is It Worth It? (NDTV)
A viral trend has foodies pouring melted chocolate over Pringles, combining sweet and salty in a divisive snack experiment. TikTok creators are testing the combo, with reactions ranging from surprisingly good to deeply cursed.
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The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals her true identity as a brain doctor (Dexerto)
Bestselling domestic-thriller author Freida McFadden has revealed she is actually Dr. Sara Cohen, a physician who treats brain disorders and who wrote under a pen name to keep her medical career separate. With her novels like The Housemaid surging in popularity, Cohen stepped back from full-time medicine in late 2023, now works occasionally, and says she’s ready to stop hiding behind wigs and aliases.
Parrot explores Bahamas in custom-built mini submarine, goes viral (Independent)
A parrot named Bebe went viral after being filmed exploring the ocean in the Bahamas inside a custom-built mini submarine. The bird’s unusual underwater trip, lasting about 15 minutes, captivated viewers for its novelty, though it also sparked debate online over animal safety and whether the stunt was harmless fun or an unnecessary risk.
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Did We All Just Get Brain-Hacked By This Little Green Alien Cat? (Radii)
The “Little Green Alien Cat” is a bizarre viral meme from Chinese platforms like Douyin, featuring a low-poly neon cat dancing to a frenetic “chicken dance” track. Its hypnotic, chaotic energy sparked the idea of “brain-hacking” (“yingkong”), symbolizing Gen Z’s digital burnout where absurd, low-effort content spreads globally as both mindless entertainment and collective stress relief.
We’ve had our eye on various iterations of this neon green alien (sometimes named Gog) since late 2024 and its nice to see that he might finally crossover to gain some mainstream popularity. [🦀 dayna]
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Pacers couple who could be arguing at game go viral thanks to lip-readers (USA Today)
A courtside Indiana Pacers couple went viral after a tense-looking exchange aired during a game, sparking lip-reading attempts and meme speculation online. Viewers tried to decode their animated argument.
Screamber Meme (Know Your Meme)
“Screamber” is a surreal TikTok-born character depicted as a screaming, speaker-like creature that’s become a go-to reaction image online. It spread rapidly through comment sections as a visual shorthand for chaos, yelling, or overstimulation, eventually jumping to platforms like X and Reddit.
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Who Is The ‘Blue Shirt Kid’ Getting Sturdy? The Viral ‘Sturdy Off’ Video And Anime Meme Edits Explained (Know Your Meme)
The “Blue Shirt Kid Sturdy” clip, posted to TikTok account @sturdyoff in March 2025, features a boy in a blue shirt who dramatically flops to the floor and proceeds to get sturdy on the ground during a kids’ dance-off. The video resurged at the end of March as a meme with editors overlaying dramatic anime monologues and filters onto the performance.
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Good Reads
Where Should Journalists Draw the Line With Fandom? (Teen Vogue)
“More than half of adult Gen Z respondents said that they have avoided expressing themselves freely online for fear of coming across as cringe,”— kelsey weekman via okay zoomer
🎡🏜🦀 Coachella
Coachella 2026: Who’s Taking Over Before the Music Does (Global Brands Magazine)
Who’s Winning the Coachella Creator Wars? (WWD)
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Coachella Campsite Tours (TikTok)
No brand? No problem! Coachella attendees show how they’re camping out in the parking lot to save money while also making it look…well, GOOD! [🦀 dejaih]
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PinkPantheress Fronts New Ugg Campaign Ahead of Coachella Debut (WWD)
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Bloom, Pacsun and more chase Coachella crowds on the way to the show with roadside activations (Modern Retail)
Barbie to Host First ‘You Can Be Any Barbie’ Coachella Activation (WWD)
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🦀 Trending
🎣Fresh Catch: Pinch the Pic
On Threads, brands are posting two separate images with “pinch to make it big,” playing into a glitch that merges them into one. Noodles Company joined in but the images didn’t line up, exposing a visible seam that sparked a second wave of reactions.
Been Reading Books of Old
TikTokers are using the “I’ve been reading books of old” line from the song Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers to stage fake reading moments. The book covers are edited with titles like “why is my girlfriend always right?” or “how to stop men from making more podcasts.”
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🫴👻
On Threads, brands are reviving old brand Twitter energy with a bait-and-reveal format using the open hand emoji. The punchline is hidden behind the spoiler feature, forcing users to tap and reveal the brand-related emoji to complete the joke.
Matilda Math
TikTok has revived an audio from Matilda where kids solve intense math problems. Creators are using it to flex hyper-specific skills or things they’re weirdly fluent in.
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AWWWWW IShowSpeed
TikTokers are using an “aw so cute” audio from IShowSpeed to show off pets, babies, or anything adorable.
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🦀 Brand News
Iceland seeks ‘really bad’ photographer for global campaign (Famous Campaigns)
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserLiquid Death x Pop-Tarts Carnage Has Arrived: The Wildest Limited-Edit (Oasis Snacks)
How $7 bags of Doritos cost PepsiCo billions in sales (LA Times)
Svedka Fembot Returns With ‘Svedphone,’ Y2K-Era Flip Phone Easing Digital Burnout (MediaPost)
Voodoo Doughnut Launches Limited-Time ‘Blunt Box’ in Honor of 4/20 (QSR Magazine)
Voodoo Doughnut@VoodooDoughnut
8:19 PM · Apr 9, 2026 · 166 Views2 LikesCoco Gauff responds to criticism of her natural hair in new Miu Miu campaign (Tennis)
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🏆🦀 Brand W
This was unexpected by Tubi, but they used the “she the birthday” trend properly to promote their streaming services. Well played! [🦀 dejaih]
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📡🥴🦀 Industry News
CAA Wants to Bring More Marketers to Hollywood’s Creative Table (Hollywood Reporter)
You can now edit your Instagram comments (Tech Crunch)
Instagram also launched a fresh look for the buttons available in the main Reels editor (@oncescuradu)
Instagram is working on the Stories tab (@alex193a)
Instagram is rolling out the ability to tag products in reels globally (@oncescuradu)
Instagram now labels suggested content based on interests (@ahmedghanem)
Cross-post content to Facebook, Instagram may show tagged profiles (@ahmedghanem)
Meta allows you to block employees from seeing your ads (@ahmedghanem)
LinkedIn now displays ‘Content Credentials’ on posts (@ahmedghanem)
Ahmed Ghanem@ahmedghanemLinkedIn now displays 'Content Credentials' on posts, showing details like the app/device used to create the media and relevant credentials. 🔗 Follow my WhatsApp Channel for more: tr.ee/AsCNip
11:31 AM · Apr 10, 2026 · 124 Views2 Likes
Resource: YouTube Culture & Trends - Culture & Trends Report: Animation’s New Wave (YouTube)
💥🦀 Hey, So That’s Bad!
Khaby Lame’s $975M TikTok AI Twin Deal Raises New Red Flags (Complex)
FAA launches campaign to recruit gamers for six-figure air traffic controller jobs (Dexerto)
Secretary Sean Duffy@SecDuffy🚨👀 Watch this… YOU can be the future of air traffic control It’s not a GAME, its a CAREER Applications open April 17th at Midnight @FAANews2:31 PM · Apr 10, 2026 · 1.29M Views354 Replies · 555 Reposts · 5.26K Likes
🎀🦀 Aesthetic
‘The Devil Wears Prada’ has an official clothing collab — it’s cerulean, affordable and fabulous (Page Six)
Obsessed with this partnership! Yes, give the glam— but love the nod to OG Andie.
[🦀 janine]
Trying to Thrift Vintage Gap? You and Everybody Else (Teen Vogue)
Ashley Furniture Just Got a Glow-Up — Unveiling Luxury Sofas, Canopy Beds, and Accent Tables Repped by... Hailee Steinfeld? (WWD)
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserUnilever Pushes Further Into Well-being, Buying Greens Supplement Brand Grüns (WWD)
How Gen Z’s Personal Style Obsession Is Changing Fashion (Business of Fashion)
From 'ballerina boobs' to 'Barbie noses', the danger of social media driving plastic surgery trends (Harper's Bazaar)
Good Read: Is the Future of Shopping Hiding Inside Luxury Hotels? (Business of Fashion)
🎧🍿🦀 Entertainment
‘Mormon Wives’ star Whitney Leavitt joins Cool Sips’ C-suite (AdAge)
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Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ Is Being Reimagined as Lullabies for Album’s 10th Anniversary (Billboard)
Rockstar wants devs with “deep understanding” of Fortnite ahead of GTA 6 Online (Dexerto)
WNBA Approves Expansion Into 3 New Cities (National Today)
‘Emily in Paris’ Readies Season 6 Shoot With Greece and Monaco as New Locations (Variety)
Nearly 100 Minors Detained at Abandoned Porn Theater Rave in San Jose (National Today)
Gypsy Rose Banned by TikTok After Mass Reporting, Vows to Rise Above Haters (TMZ)
Björk to host solar eclipse rave in Iceland this summer (DJ Mag)
‘Bye Bye Bye’ Choreographer Sues Sony Over ‘Deadpool’ Scene (Complex)
‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’ fans bombard Netflix with memes after getting left in the dust (The Post Athens)
Japanese Pen Containing Live Parasite Goes Viral, Catching the Attention of Resident Evil Fans Who Know How This Goes (IGN)
Good Read: Country Music’s Middle Road (Vulture)
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We hope you enjoyed this installment of Silence, Brand!—a tri-weekly, late-night potluck of internet absurdity 🦀
Ryan Benson • Dayna Castillo • Dejaih Smith • Benton Williams • Janine Davis