A TikTok video asked brands to comment for no reason, and they did

Several brands converged on TikTok recently to comment on a video that has since gone viral. The post by TikTok user ramblingsanchez shows himself eating broccoli with a whimsical request for brands: “A bunch of brand accounts should comment on this for no reason.” 

Surprisingly, many brands sportingly stepped up to the plate, fulling his odd yet simple request. The post had comments from a mix of global and local brands such as Amazon, lululemon, Trojan Brand Condoms, Nerf, Bumble, Levi's, Decathlon, Secretlab, Nando’s Singapore, Grab, and Razer, as well as content creator Ming and social media company SGAG. Even TikTok left a comment.

Decathlon Singapore, in particular, replied: "Just came back from the gym, sorry I'm late." When asked why it decided to jump on the trend, Jia Qin Leong, social media and PR lead told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, that its social media accounts are helmed by a young team that is constantly keeping up with what is trending on social media.

“It is in the Decathlon nature to be spontaneous and fun so we commented with only the intention to chime in on the banter with brands and fans on TikTok,” she added. The brand also wanted to showcase its identity through comments to gain more recognition by resonating with sports-lovers internationally through TikTok. According to Leong, Decathlon has since gained 13,700 likes for its comment.

Meanwhile, Nando's Singapore responded to the post with a video of its own, which showed a person enjoying grilled broccoli at a Nando's outlet. It also included the caption "Fun fact: we serve broccoli too". Its brand and innovation manager, Chan Ying Wah, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it loves TikTok and how simple, silly things can become entertaining so quickly. 

"The original broccoli video fits exactly with the Nando’s personality – having fun, being cheeky, all while being a little random and mysterious. Thus, we couldn’t resist jumping into the conversation," Chan said. Furthermore, this gave Nando's a chance to promote its new category of PERi-PERi Bowls, which is exclusive to the Singapore market. It allows customers to customise their bowls by picking from a range of items - including grilled broccoli.

Razer also joined in on the fun with a "Whats up". Its global community director, Hung Wei Goh, said that the brand's approach for its social media strategy is to ensure that it remains personable amongst gamers and youths. "Fans that reach out to us on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook typically can expect some form of a fun response or acknowledgement," he explained. According to him, having an approachable community team, who are like-minded gamers like its audience, is how Razer managed to grow to more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok in less than a year, and have 25 million fans across all its social media platforms.

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The video also caught the attention of Singaporean taekwondo athlete and TikTok creator Ng Ming Wei, who goes by the user name of Ming. Ming responded to the video saying he hoped he was not too late as he was "trying to run away from (his) father". He explained to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that he left a comment because it seemed like a fun and casual way to connect with other users on TikTok and make its name known.

“I was hoping to reach more people and let them know about Daddy Ming and I. That said, I also got to interact with some of my followers in a more ‘organic’ way, which was unexpected and cool! It was kind of like bumping into a friend on the street,” he explained. While Ming was unsure of what the trend exactly was, he thought it created a space where brand accounts could present themselves in a more relatable way and connect with their consumers or followers in an informal and personal manner.

At the same time, SGAG, which is known for its funny posts and trendjacking, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that while the TikTok video was not a typical trend, it saw the video as a fun opportunity to surprise its fans. Isaac Tan, head of creative strategy at SGAG, said that is the beauty of being on TikTok as well - showing up where people least expect and delivering on the brand beyond just the content on its page. 

Toh D-Jin, assistant creative manager at SGAG, added that it was a great opportunity to represent a local brand on a platform like TikTok that brings the world together, and it allows Singaporeans who chanced upon their “For You” page to be surprised to see local representation amidst global brands.

Overall, ramblingsanchez's video had 13.9 million views, 2.3 million likes and 88,300 comments at the time of writing. According to ramblingsanchez's TikTok account, several brands have also reached out to him via DMs. In attempt to strike gold twice, the TikTok user posted a video of him having a drink; with the caption "A bunch of artists should comment on this post for no reason." The post was uploaded at 11.30pm Singapore time yesterday, but has not seen any comments from brands at the time of writing. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to ramblingsanchez for comment.

Brands have banked on trends to draw user engagement in recent weeks. They recently joined in on the fun to troll Facebook on Twitter, taking the lead from the latter which got the ball rolling after Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went dark in a global outage that lasted for about six hours. Brands such as McDonald's, Google Play, adidas, Tampax, McLaren, and Lionsgate among others, joined in on the fun. Also jumping on the hype over Netflix's show Squid Game, brands across Asia trendjacked the series with localised #Squidgames promotions; with more brands joining the foray as the show grew in popularity.

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Video credit: ramblingsanchez

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