Cultural trends are moving towards embracing the weird, absurd, and silly. This document discusses how mentions of words like "weird" have increased significantly in recent years. It also shows how brands can leverage this "Wacko World" by finding their niche in weird culture, getting wacky with their marketing, and collaborating with meme artists. The spectrum of weird is presented, with options ranging from revealing a quirky side to going fully wild. Overall, the document advocates that brands embrace weirdness and move away from rational, formulaic advertising.

1. @tbwabackslash
@tbwabackslash
@tbwabackslash

2. WHAT IS AN EDGE?
An “edge” is a cultural
shift or value where brands
can identify insights, and
opportunities to play into.
Edges provide direction
on emerging and evolving
cultural, consumer, and
category behavior.

3. THE ABSURD, INEXPLICABLE, AND
PLAIN SILLY ARE TAKING OVER
MEMES, FASHION, AND MARKETING
THE WORLD HAS
GONE WACKO
THE BIGGER PICTURE

4. “We live in
extraordinary times.
People’s tolerance
for wackiness has
increased in all
walks of life.”
—Colin Mitchell,
VP global brand,
McDonald’s

5. YEARLY MENTIONS OF
“X YEAR WAS WEIRD”
MENTIONS
0
2009
117 422
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
5K
10K
15K
20K
25K
30K
35K
40K
45K
2,199
5,034
7,978
41,562
9,496
26,787
We call this cultural shift “Wacko World”.
And we think it’s one of the biggest
creative opportunities this year.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Mentions of X year
[2008 - 2018] AND (“was
weird” OR “is weird” OR
“is the weirdest”) on
the social web. Source:
Crimson Hexagon
1,470

6. TRIGGERS
has reported: We’re
seeing a trend for wacky superhero
films like “Guardians of the Galaxy,”
and the “Deadpool” franchise. A
freaky spin refreshes tired concepts,
and it’s cashing in at the box office—
so expect more to follow.
Welcome to the
in Hollywood
World of Weird”
“Brave New

7. TRIGGERS
In fashion, “ugly and
ironic” is now cool.
Weird and wonderful “Pop
Lux” collaborations,
(such as the IKEA-
inspired Balenciaga
tote that blew
up last year) are
the new norm. This
highbrow-meets-
lowbrow strategy is
one other industries can
follow, too:
— just look at the
success of Martha Stewart
and Snoop Dogg teaming up
in the food world.
WARBY PARKER X ARBYS

8. TRIGGERS

10. LOOK WHAT I CAN DO
HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!
CULTURAL COMPETITON
“There’s no difference between what
brands or internet users are putting
online, from the point of view of a
regular person. Everyone is competing
against each other for attention.”
—Chris Garbutt, global chief
creative officer, TBWAWorldwide
Brands have always
competed with culture
but it used to be easier
to buy attention. In a
world of ad blocking and
the Tide Pod challenge,
brands need to be braver,
bolder, and to genuinely
contribute to culture, to
earn our attention.
SKIP AD
FOR THE FANS

11. People are
realizing that
they’ve been put
in a bubble, seeing
the same kind of
content on repeat.
They’re looking for
new experiences
that defy the feed
and give them
an escape from
reality right now.
This is a reaction to
over-consumption
and logic.
DEFY THE FEED
repeat.
repeat.

12. Mentions of “weird” OR
“strange” OR “bizarre”
on the social web.
Source: Crimson Hexagon,
2008 - 2018
We analyzed the emotions associated
with people discussing the topic
of “weird” online since 2008. As
weird becomes more normal, fear
and apprehension associated with
weirdness has given way to an
increase in positive emotions.
0
2008 20102009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 20182017
1M
2M
3M
4M
5M
Fear
JoyDisgust
Sadness
Anger
Surprise

13. WE ONLY WANT THE
We’re all weird
now according to
marketing guru Seth
Godin, that is. The
internet has led to
the end of “normal,”
and rise of “niche.”
Those brands still
trying to blandly
build products for
the masses are facing
a losing battle, he
says: Find your tribe
and embrace the “Long
Tail” business model.
RISE OF NICHE
“We underestimated
how big a deal it
was. There were demos
outside restaurants.
100k people signed a
petition to restock the
sauce. It opened our
eyes to the pop culture
appeal of the brand.”
— Colin Mitchell,
VP global brand,
McDonald’s
on its szechuan
sauce meme craze

15. IMPLICATIONS__ONE
DISRUPT
YOUR
PROCESS To create
original—and more
“out-there”—marketing,
start by disrupting your creative
process. Think: Monty Python-style
brainstorms; or channel OK GO’s TED
talk on how to find wonderful ideas.
Conventional input =
Conventional output

16. IMPLICATIONS__TWO
WHAT’S YOUR WEIRD?
Brands actually occupy
more relevance online than
they might think. They are
placeholders and they’re
directional. They live on the
cultural map as key points
and would do well to know
where their place is.”
– Alan Hanson, content editor
& community manager,
Denny’s
“
#WalmartYodelBoy
#WalmartYodelBoy
#WalmartYodelBoy
#WalmartYodelBoy
FULL VERSION WALMART BOY YODELING!
FIND YOUR BRAND’S NICHE
IN WEIRD CULTURE

17. Pop culture today isn’t
determined by a few
influencers at the top.
If your brand is
genuinely going to be
part of the conversation,
you need to respond
quickly and connect with
the everyday inhabitants
of the internet.
IMPLICATIONS__THREE
524 followers
610 followers
976 followers
739 followers
1,247 followers
980 followers 3,321 followers
547 followers 855 followers 668 followers
2,583 followers
479 followers
790 followers393 followers

18. IMPLICATIONS__FOUR
A weirder world needs weirder
marketing. In response,
advertising needs to be less
rational and formulaic.
We need more Mailchimp, less
Millward Brown.
GET WACKY

19. IMPLICATIONS__FIVE
@gothshakira
“You can’t just be
crazy for crazy’s
sake. You need brand
purpose and platform
thinking. Agencies also
need to get better at
selling crazy. Show the
competition and the
consumer need for it.
Quantify the value of
being crazier. Include
your clients in the
process.”
— Chris Garbutt, Global
Chief Creative Officer,
TBWAWorldwide
“You can’t just be
crazy for crazy’s
sake. You need brand
purpose and platform
thinking. Agencies also
need to get better at
selling crazy. Show the
competition and the
consumer need for it.
Quantify the value of
being crazier. Include
your clients in the
process.”
- Chris Garbutt, Global
Chief Creative Officer,
TBWAWorldwide
S
U
R
G
E
G
U
C
C
I
SALES

20. Be as weird as you want

21. THE SPECTRUM OF WEIRD
2.
Reveal Your Brand’s
Quirky Side
3.
Go Wild!
1.
A Little
Weird
Apple Animoji ad
Starbucks’
Unicorn
Frappuccino is
just one of
87,000 drink
combinations
Cheetos Museum
“Theopportunityofourtimeistosupporttheweird, to sell to the weird and, if you wish, to become weird.” —Seth Godin, author of “We Are All
Weird:TheRiseofTribesandtheEndofNormal”

22. THE SPECTRUM OF WEIRD
“People want a break from our
crazy world. Rather than add to the
cacophony, brands can also offer
respite and reliability.”
- Colin Mitchell, VP global brand,
McDonald’s
BE THE ANTIDOTE
If weird is just too
weird for you,
be the anti-weirdPatagonia:
“The President
Stole Your Land”
Everlane,
Radical
Transparency
Muji, creates order
and simplicity in
your life

23. “NORMIE”
“LOCALS”
A derogatory term for a conventional
and mainstream person or, as
the Urban Dictionary puts it,
“inexperienced mainstream peasants”.
Locals are the regular
active users on a social
platform that, en masse,
help form popular opinion,
as in “Twitter Locals.”
INTERNET
CODE-SWITCHING”
The alternating (or mixed) use of
language, to connect with specific
audiences, or adapt to the socio-
cultural context.
“DEEP FRIED”
The washed-out, strangely-coloured look and
feel of a meme that has been through the
ringer due to filter and compression overload,
providing credible proof of its travel through
the the internet over time.
“

24. AESTHETICS
“The visual vernacular of
Wacko World draws from
the fact that it must look
hand-crafted, low, and ‘local.’
The more ‘recycled’ a piece of
imagery looks, the more that
validates its travel throughout
digital communities.”
— Sean Monahan,
cultural commentator and
Backslash Spotter-at-Large
Meme Art
Post Taste
Millennial Kitsch
Visual Mash-Ups
Gucci is a great example of a brand
collaborating with meme artists to
appropriate an in-the-know Wacko look.
Welcome to bright, attention-grabbing and
abrasive colors, Ugly Fashion, and the
Maximalism renaissance. Nike leveraged
John Yuyi’s internet tats for its
Air Max 2018 launch
Rainbows, unicorns, flamingos,
mermaids, and the color pink signify
the mainstreaming of queer culture and
the cultural cues of a generation.
“Appropriating the randomness and absurdity
of mash-up culture and the totally incongruous
juxtaposition of meme culture and many of the
editing techniques used by meme creators to
signal cultural capital.”
Chris Arning, founder, Creative Semiotics

25. “Today, creativity occurs as
something shared, connected,
and in a chain reaction.
Genius is communal.”
- Alan Hanson, content editor
and community manager,
Denny’s
BEHAVIOR
“Pop Lux”
Collaborations
Scarcity Value
Speed of
Response
New Customizable
Formats
The fashion industry leads the world in wacky
collaborations. Think: The Vetements DHL
T-shirt; see, also, the lux-ification of fast
food, such as popcorn. Go High/Low.
Embrace the ephemeral nature of the internet.
Think: Rare memes; and learn from Supreme’s
masterclass in limited-edition marketing —
see “Supreme x Nan Goldin.”
Lightning-fast media creation,
conversational flow, and operating at
the speed of culture separate the
brand leaders from the outsiders.
“New formats are just as important as memes. A good
format will act as a template that sparks audience
participation and allows people to build on it.”
— Sean Monahan, cultural commentator
and Backslash Spotter-at-Large
TEXT
TEXT TEXT

26. — Chris Arning, founder,
Creative Semiotics

27. SARAH RABIA
& AMELIA HALL
Backslash is a cultural-insight
studio based in Los Angeles. It is
powered by a global network of
250 Culture Spotters.
Check out our daily culture brief
on Instagram @tbwabackslash.
tbwabackslash.com
AUTHORS:
DATA BY_ MATT SEGAL
DESIGN BY_ROBBIE REYNOLDS
CREDITS
Images courtesy of AP