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Just why are Gen Z marketing videos are going viral? 19 September 2024

If you’ve been anywhere near social media recently, you’ll probably have seen this: videos of deadpan presenters introducing historical sites and other locations in Gen Z language.

So why have these videos gone so viral? What’s the reason for this particular marketing trend? Well, if you’ve watched the videos, you’ll already know the answer: because they’re funny. That’s all great, but it’s what’s behind the humour which is interesting.

The power of pattern interrupt

This is about tone of voice, specifically the unexpected gap between the style of the presenter and their language.

The use of the distinctive and, for many of us outside that age group, not always accessible, Gen Z tone of voice creates a startling contrast with the often rather sober and sensible appearance of the speaker.

It’s a kind of pattern interrupt that subverts the linguistic and cultural norms of these kinds of settings, while also being “generation spanning”, as this article puts it, when discussing the popularity of the video about the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, shown below.

@royalarmouriesmuseum Serving curatorial realness fr #armsandarmour #royalarmouries #museum #history #genz #historytok #museumtok #marketingscript ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova – TOKYO Lonesome Blue

Mind the language gap

Just before that Gen Z-voiced video became the hottest thing on TikTok, the video below also gained rather a lot of attention, this time for Northumberland Zoo. Again, it plays on the contrast between the presenters, their speaking style and the type of language they use.

@northumberlandzoo Our Zoo Directors didn’t understand the assignment. #genz #genzmarketing #viral #fyp #funny #marketing ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova – TOKYO Lonesome Blue

Generation-spanning marketing

The joy of “When Gen Z write the marketing script” videos is that they subvert the norm, turning the usual expectations topsy-turvy, and in doing so, making us see things anew. The power is in the surprise.

Changing the script is a clever and engaging way of marketing something familiar or perhaps sadly viewed as “not for us” by certain demographics. This is the humour of different worlds meeting, of one generation taking on the voice of another. The communication gap between the different age groups becomes a kind of connecting factor.

From Gen Z to Shakespeare

As a copywriter, I’m bound to find this an interesting trend. However, I do wonder whether the current viral wave of Gen Z tone of voice marketing will eventually become too popular as a marketing approach.

Because when everyone starts doing something, it loses its meaning, similar to what happened with the Innocent Drinks-style of tone of voice that so many companies emulated a decade or so ago. The trend could give rise to some other generational tone of voice shift. Perhaps the next one will be young people giving tours of historic houses in Shakespearean English.

Who knows? For now, this viral marketing trend is inspiring people to look at places like museums afresh. And that’s lit.