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Everyone’s watching the Netflix sensation, Squid Game. The dystopian drama gives underprivileged people the chance to compete in basic childhood games for millions of dollars, but there’s a catch. One wrong move in a game can lead to death. 

The South Korean survival show debuted in September 2021 and has since drawn 111 million viewers, making it Netflix’s biggest debut, usurping Bridgerton, which had an audience of 82 million viewers, according to The Guardian.

The nine-episode season has inspired some fans to take on their own #SquidGameChallenge, and now brands are wondering if there’s a way to leverage the show’s popularity with a Squid Game-inspired challenge of their own. 

Here are a few ways brands can create TikTok challenges based on Squid Game.

Host a baking challenge

In the show, participants are challenged to create the perfect honeycomb candy. They select candy cutters and must cut the candy perfectly without breaking the edges. Brands that have a baking connection can leverage this game as a branded challenge. 

Let’s say you’re a food influencer or maybe your brand sells cookbooks, meal plans, or bakeware. You can challenge your audience to make the perfect candy or cookie and have them share their success on social. 

Food influencer @bayashi.tiktok tries to make the exact candy from Squid Game called dolgona. He has several failed attempts before making it right, but it’s a good example of what you can ask your audience to do.

Give an origami lesson

Have you heard of Ddakji? It’s a South Korean game where children fold pieces of paper into tiles. One tile is selected as a thrower and is thrown at other tiles in hopes of flipping one. 

How can you turn this into a #SquidGameChallenge? Crafty brands or even brands that offer kids games can provide a tutorial on how to make the tiles and ask their viewers to share their creations. 

Jenny W. Chan of Origami Tree, for example, shared this tutorial with her fans, which racked up 70,000+ views. Across the pond, German influencer mr. cheatday does a similar how-to video on TikTok

Try a tug of war challenge

How would you do in a tug of war? In the show, participants play a high-stakes game of tug of war suspended on elevated platforms. Obviously, no one should mimic those terms, but there are some ways to create a basic tug of war challenge for your audience. 

This kind of challenge is ideal for a fitness brand. For instance, a gym could host a tug of war competition and pit different classes against each other. The instructor could shoot video of each challenge, share them on social, and ask members to vote on the competition’s victors. 

A brand that hosts spartan races could ask people who plan to enter a race to pair up, compete in their own backyard tug of war, and share a video of it on social for a chance to win free registration and VIP parking to an upcoming race.   

In a different twist, YouTuber Jin Yong-jin tried to recreate the tug of war strategy used in the show to see if it would work in real life. He shared the video with his fans and garnered 3.2 million views in just nine days. If your brand tests theories or recreates stunts, this could be a way to introduce a Squid Game Challenge with your audience.

Here are a few ways brands can create TikTok challenges based on Squid Game.

Create a hashtag for your challenge

Right now, #SquidGame has 914.2 million views on TikTok alone. When you create a challenge, ask your participants to use this hashtag along with one you create for your brand. 

Consider giving away prizes

You can turn your challenge into a contest where winners receive prizes. Incentives are always a good way to encourage participation. If you are planning to give something away, be sure to explain how a person can win. Will a winner be picked randomly? Will TikTok followers vote for a winner? Explain the terms and the prizes.

Ask an influencer to take part

To kick off your challenge, consider working with an influencer to create some buzz. A fitness brand that plans to host a tug of war competition could team up with a local fitness influencer to announce the competition, for example, or a craft influencer could provide the Ddakji video tutorial for a brand to use to launch their challenge.  

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Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.

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Managed Services offerings

influencer marketing software Managed Services

 IZEA MANAGED SERVICES 

Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.

Request a proposal

Learn more about our Managed Services offerings

 IZEA MANAGED SERVICES 

Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.

Request a proposal

Learn more about our Managed Services offerings