Bratz Doll-Inspired makeovers are trending, Peloton’s ads are Twitter’s favorite new joke, people have opinions about Zara’s new logo, and more topics the internet couldn’t stop talking about this week…
1. Beauty Influencers Are Taking On The #BratzChallenge
The ‘90s nostalgia never ends. Now, young makeup aficionados are making themselves over as Bratz dolls. #BratzChallenge has over 38,000 posts on Instagram alone, where people are getting creative with their makeup palettes to mimic the doll’s larger-than-life eyes and lips. While some are opting for a more realistic take on the iconic toys, others are drawing outside of the lines—literally—to create “saucer eyes” and “impossibly plump, glossy pouts” that go well beyond their own lash and lip lines, according to PAPER Magazine and Cosmopolitan. Unfortunately, the throw-back challenge isn’t all pure content. Some have tried to imitate MGA Entertainment’s less popular and more controversial dolls, like one that has vitiligo and another of Frida Kahlo that the Kahlo estate had removed from stores in Mexico.
2. Peloton’s Marketing Is Being Mocked In A Viral Twitter Thread
Peloton is getting tons of free press this week, but the spinning startup might not like why. This week, a Twitter thread by @ClueHeywood went viral for mocking unrealistic Peloton ads, writing “Love putting my Peloton bike in the most striking area of my ultra-modern $3 million house.” The tweet received over 135,000 likes and 30,000 retweets. And that’s just for the first tweet in the series @ClueHeywood created, in which he paired actual Peloton marketing pics with sarcastic captions like “I had my carpenter build a $9,000 finished wood riser for my Peloton bike in my glass-enclosed zen garden/home gym.” Some riders like @wcmarkwalls have jumped in to show that where they’re actually keeping their bikes is far less glamorous, like the basement.
3. Zara’s New Logo Is Stressing the Internet Out
Zara had the wrong kind of logo mania this week. Nylon reports that the fashion brand recently redesigned their logo by essentially smooshing their letters together, and now, Twitter users like @CherylAnneNY are saying things like, “It makes me feel cramped and crowded and stressed out.” Others like @fffabs are predicting Zara’s 2027 evolution will mean all of the letters are superimposed on top of one another. While they seem to be adding to the recent frenzy around logo changes, Fast Company points out that the new direction could actually be “the future of branding,” and that the logo stands out amid a sea of spaced-out sans serif fonts (à la Millennials’ minimalist moment).
4. Peppa Pig Rings In The Chinese New Year In Heartwarming Viral Video
Peppa Pig became an icon in China this year, as pictures of people getting character-themed tattoos and merch spread across Weibo and Douyin (aka TikTok) and over 30,000 videos were posted under the character’s hashtag. Though the Chinese government banned the “subculture icon” shortly thereafter, now, Peppa is getting a second life in a government-approved short film from Entertainment One and Alibaba Pictures that has over 200 million views in its home country, Variety reports. The five-minute clip promotes upcoming movie, Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year. (FYI: it’s the year of the pig.) In the heartwarming clip, a rural-living grandfather searches to find out what Peppa Pig is to give his toddler grandson a gift. But, as ABC News points out, the plot also (intentionally or not) points out some hot topics that are hard to ignore, like the growing divide between urban and rural China and how the single-child policy created a generation of “little emperors.”
5. Links We’re Passing:
Burger King trolled Casey Neistat, mid-Westerners got creative with Polar Vortex challenges, a singer drove hype for her new album with a fake Harry Styles face tattoo, teens pretended to eat their fingers in a silly challenge, and Ariana Grande accidentally got “BBQ grill” tattooed on her palm in Japanese.
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