Trendjacking is on the rise. Riding the wave of an online trend as a form of social media marketing has the potential to shoot a brand into viral stardom. On the other hand, it also has the potential to appear contrived to the consumer eye. Striking a balance between authenticity and relatability should be a key objective for any social media campaign. Likey Co. believes that Nutter Butter's nightmare-fuel strategy hits the trendjacking nail on the head with analog horror.

Nutter Butter's TikTok Journey

Unquestionably, Nutter Butter’s attempts at trendjacking have a rich history on TikTok. Their peculiar TikTok content dates years back. A video released in 2022 depicts an AI model generating “nutter butter with legs.” However, this content wasn’t nearly as successful as their recent material, only garnering 11.4k views. Evidently, this lack of user engagement did not deter Nutter Butter’s marketing team. In fact, their content has only gotten more bizarre since then.

Earlier this September, TikTok influencer Cassie Fitzwater posted a viral video about Nutter Butter’s eerie content, asking, “Nutter Butter, are you guys okay?” Naturally, many TikTok users swiped over to Nutter Butter’s official platform to see what the concern was all about. The content that users find on this platform will likely stick with them for a good, long while.

Nutter Butter cookies with terrifying, humanoid faces. A flailing doll named Aiden with a cookie for a head. Meowing cats distorted by neon colors and unsettling voiceovers telling users, “You have been visited by the Nutter Butter man. His intentions are unknown.”

As described, the flashing images and clips displayed on the TikTok account are unnerving, to say the least. So why did Nutter Butter opt to trendjack an aesthetic that's been reserved for memes over the past decade?

The Creative Possibilities are Endless

The genius of Nutter Butter’s horror-inspired campaign lies in the fact that the content is simultaneously original and trendy. Creepypasta and analog horror are aesthetics that have existed for over a decade now. The combination of these aesthetics with nonsensical humor is appealing to Gen Z, who grew up with similar styles of videos on YouTube and TikTok. Nutter Butter capitalized on this appeal through a connective marketing execution to reach younger generations. Through a marketing lens, Nutter Butter's trendjacking of analog horror is refreshing and eccentric, taking their content to a place where few brands dare to venture.

Although it took some time, Nutter Butter’s brand optimization is succeeding. With over 900k followers on TikTok, their videos released over the past month have received millions of views. They even posted a response to Cassie Fitzwater with dancing Nutter Butters and a repeated chant of “yes, yes, yes.” This video achieved 13.5 million views. Clearly, Nutter Butter has successfully trendjacked analog horror.

Time Constraints of Trendjacking: What Does the Future Hold?

Nutter Butter’s dedication to trendjacking analog horror sets it apart from other brands. Although this content may eventually lose its novelty over time, the impact that it makes on users now will be memorable. At Likey Co., we encourage the unforgettable experience and value impactful engagement like this.

Unfortunately, trendjacking and longevity don’t really go hand-in-hand in an age where the shelf-life of a trend can last as long as a week. Technology leader Scott M. Graffius published data for the lifespan of social media posts in 2024. His studies conclude that the average half-life for Instagram posts is about twenty hours, and tweets are forty-three minutes. TikTok content has a shelf-life of ninety days, but the actual trends themselves can die out as early as two to three days after they begin.

The question is, how will Nutter Butter continue to capitalize on this trending aesthetic? What will Nutter Butter do next to keep the momentum going and further connect with Gen Z?