Welcome to Break the Internet

I’m here to translate what the f*ck is happening on the internet for those of you who are (blessedly) not chronically online - starting with the Exxon Mobil influencer trip.

Pookie is looking fire today. Millennial Pause. I have purse. The Montana Boys. Be honest, how old do I look? Influencer gasp. Saltyface ads. That AliExpress phone case with tiny suction cups. Crunchy mamas. Reneé Rapp.

If any of the above doesn't ring a bell, this newsletter is for you. The internet has become one big inside joke, and I want you to be in on it.

Hi, I’m Willa. I’ve spent the last decade building CPG brands and most importantly – scrolling. I’m often thinking about the connection between *gestures broadly* the physical, analog world and our collective digital, online reality. But I realize most of you are (blessedly) not chronically online - so I’ve made it my mission to translate what the f*ck is happening on the internet in a newsletter format. Cute, right?

While online trends may seem unimportant to the uninitiated, the ~internet~ is where increasingly more people are living their lives. Neglecting the world-building of this space is no longer a viable option if you want to build a relevant brand, connect with your Gen Z co-workers, write meaningful policy, or attempt to sustain a public life without getting canceled.

If you made it this far, you get the value in absorbing this information. Each time I pop up in your inbox, I’ll alert you to something happening on the internet that I think you should know about. Today, we are starting with the Exxon Mobil oil-rigging influencer brand trip. That is a sentence that would put a pilgrim into a coma, so let’s start at the beginning.

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Let’s Break it Down: The Exxon Mobil Brand Trip

💡Vocab Term: “Brand Trip” A brand trip is an excursion planned and funded by a company in which they invite influencers to attend and create heaps of content, all without being required by FTC guidelines to hashtag #Ad or #Sponsored. Some brands compensate influencers in addition to paying for the trip itself.

Tarte ($100M+ beauty brand most well-known for their Shape Tape concealer) is borderline infamous for their lavish influencer trips to Dubai, Hawaii, Costa Rica and currently, Bora Bora. And even if not explicitly stated, there is almost certainly a hope that bringing these influencers on what many people would consider a once-in-a-lifetime trip will endear them to the brand. The principle of reciprocity suggests that it’s human nature to feel obligated to do nice things for people who have done nice things for us – especially if they pay for roundtrip first-class flights.

🔮 The Inside Joke

Remember how I said the internet is one big inside joke? Well, that is the literal definition of this trend. About a week ago, @acquiredstyle (812k followers) posted a TikTok pranking her boyfriend about being invited on a brand trip sponsored by Exxon Mobil. Other creators followed suit, pranking their dads and boyfriends who, in general, were supportive of their content-creator daughters/girlfriends hopping on an oil rig for a week.

People familiar with brand trips immediately got the joke, as these trips are usually hosted by brands you would find in a Sephora or Gwyneth Paltrow’s closet, not a gas station. Also, the trips take place somewhere chic, expensive, or tropical – often all three. They categorically do not feature intense manual labor or perilous underwater welding.

📈 #Trending

Prank phone calls to dads have become a subcategory of prank trends. Last summer, creators shared videos calling their dads claiming to have been charged $100 for “premium air” when getting a routine oil change. The humor in this bit lies in the fact that “premium air” is fictitious, mechanics fill your tires for free, and the trope of car service people taking advantage of young women is, unfortunately, often borne out. Another wave in December 2023 had creators asking their dads why their cars started making funny noises after using what they referred to as “Christmas gas” but dads understood to be diesel fuel.

🤔 Ok…so what?

Here’s the section where I make some potentially illusory claims about why this trend is worth knowing about and how it adds to the broader context of the internet reality. I have two claims, as a lil treat:

1. Brand trips aren’t the valuable tool they used to be: Paying for influencers (who ostensibly could afford to fund their own trips) to go on extravagant excursions while the average American is feeling the sting of inflation (why are eggs $9??) is not the vibe. This trend of making fun of an insane branded trip concept is evidence that consumer sentiments on actual brand trips are changing - the appetite for videos of influencers blacking out at a #branded beach party in Bora Bora is dwindling.

2. This goes for gifting, too: Anecdotally, I’m seeing more negative comments on PR unboxings calling out the wastefulness of sending creators giant boxes of ~stuff~ to announce product launches. Creators like @olivialmarcus are even calling out the excessiveness of sending 19 shades of lipstick to each influencer. Brands need to innovate since consumers - and influencers - are tiring of this tactic.

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🏆 Creator of the Week

With 2.8M followers on TikTok alone, Jake Shane (@octopusslover8) has swiftly carved out a niche in Vine-style comedy. His most recent viral video was in response to a comment suggesting he pretend to be the first guy to ever milk a cow. His unique format of using audience comments as improv suggestions coupled with his friendships with high-profile celebrities like Sofia Richie-Grainge (she’s also his cousin!), pop star Tate McRae, and fellow TikTok sensation Alix Earle, have earned him a recurring spot on many feeds. He also joins the growing list of TikTok creators with popular podcasts, with weekly episodes of THERAPUSS garnering 300k+ views on YouTube since launching two months ago.

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🍸Cocktail Tidbits

Light bites you can sprinkle into a conversation to signal that you’re in on the internet trends.

BÉIS wants you to know founder Shay Mitchell would never sponsor an Exxon Mobil brand trip. But! They are sponsoring the Tarte trip. NYC-based influencer Remi Bader and her boyfriend broke up. NYT launched a new game called Strands. Noah Beck squashed the rumor that he’s dead, teens around the world rejoiced. Jay Shetty is, allegedly, a fraud. And finally, a man goes viral for drinking “magical” coffee made with a secret ingredient.

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Alright team, we did it. That’s the end of the first edition of Break the Internet. If you have something nice to say, smash that reply button (or tap it gently, idc) and sound off. Let me know what you loved, liked, wanted more of, or want to learn about next.

Keep scrolling,

Willa