Have you seen the #CornKid on TikTok? If you haven’t, take a look. The TikTok account, @DoingThings, posted an interview with a boy who loves corn on the cob. His enthusiasm for something so simple will certainly make you smile. The interview turned into a song track, and now it’s taking over TikTok’s For Your Page.
For TikTok-savvy brands, there are ways to jump on board the #CornKid trend to boost engagement.
The #CornKid trend origination
Before brainstorming ways for brands to participate in this viral trend, let’s look at the original video posted on August 4. It all started with a simple interview, but the charisma of the young boy is undoubtedly what made the video go viral. Check it out:
@doingthings Do you think corn is real? 🌽 @Recess Therapy
♬ original sound - Doing Things
The clip had 4 million likes and 75K comments in just over three weeks.
Tariq, the corn-loving little boy in the video, has so many cute one-liners like, “I just really love corn,” and at the end he wishes everyone a “corntastic day.” The video was such a hit, @DoingThings did another video with him and made up the corn dance.
@doingthings It’s the grease 🌽 @Recess Therapy
♬ original sound - Doing Things
After the video made its rounds, @schmoyoho turned the adorable interview into a song. In just one week, the song amassed 5.6 million likes.
@schmoyoho intro song for any meal/snack with corn 🌽 - from iconic interview on @doingthings
♬ Corn but it becomes a song and unites world - schmoyoho
TikTok, as you know, is all about catchy audio clips. When the audio track came out, brands started using it creatively. Since corn has basically taken over TikTok, the hashtag #CornTok is wildly popular too.
5 creative ways to create a #CornTok trend video
Ready to join the corn craze? Here’s a look at how some brands are leveraging #CornTok:
Use the song with your brand’s “favorite thing”
In the video, #CornKid says corn is his favorite thing. As a result, many brands are using the corn song and simply substituting corn with their favorite thing, which is tied to their brand.
United Airlines, for example, used the song and made their favorite thing — you guessed it — planes. Take a look at their video:
Other brands have followed suit. Sling Bungee Fitness, a niche workout facility that uses bungees as part of a cardio workout, did something similar by sharing their favorite thing: bungee.
Have an animal, mascot or avatar eat corn
One of the easiest ways to create a corn video is to show someone or something eating corn.
Pet-friendly brands, zoos, vets or even brands with a mascot can record an animal eating corn. The Cincinnati Zoo did just that. They handed a small ear of corn to Rico, a porcupine at the zoo, and posted this TikTok video.
A gamer showed a Fortnite player eating corn and shared it on YouTube.
Is there a way your brand can do something similar? Think about who could consume corn and represent your brand simultaneously.
Play the clip on company TVs
Consider playing the corn video on office TVs. You could play it in the lobby or a conference room and get everyone’s reaction to the video. The song is quite short, it’s about 20 seconds long, so you don’t need to capture much video to make this idea work.
This campaign was inspired by the Florida Gators, who played the corn clip on stadium TVs. You don’t need a stadium to pull this off, though; all you need is a TV in your office building.
Make a corn craft
Does your company have a creative side? Craft brands and creative agencies can join the corn revolution by showcasing their artistic side.
Need some inspiration? A Pittsburgh-based chalk artist drew Tariq on a park sidewalk, and a crafty rug maker made this cute kernel creation:
@happy.rugs this has been stuck in my head all week 🌽 #corn #itscorn #rugtiktok
♬ Corn but it becomes a song and unites world - schmoyoho
Share a corn recipe
Any kind of food brand can share a corn recipe and add the corn theme song to it. This idea can work for any food-related brand really, from restaurants to cooking supply stores.
You can share a recipe, or keep it a bit simpler and cook some corn like the U.K. restaurant Nanado’s did.
Or, invite the Corn Kid to your restaurant, like Chipotle did.
@chipotle Wait for it #corn
♬ original sound - Chipotle
How will your brand participate in this cute TikTok trend? Try some of the ideas above and be sure to add the right hashtags to it too like #cornkid, #CornTok and #itscorn to make sure your clips come up during a search.
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