You’ve probably already heard of the viral TikTok trend where older staff members “let their Gen Z coworkers (or children) write their marketing scripts”. The results are as hilarious as you’d imagine, with older British people using Gen Z slang in the most deadpan, funny way possible.
We don’t know who did it first. According to Forbes, the first video that went viral in the UK was from Currys (an electronics retailer), but that doesn’t mean they were the ones that came up with it.
Why I try not to embed TikTok
I personally dislike embedded TikTok videos because they take ages to start playing, and when they do they are already over by the time I have managed to switch the sound on. You also can’t go back or skip ahead. (Why??? I find this infuriating!) So although all of these were originally posted to TikTok, I’ve tried to find as many as possible on YouTube, but I’ve also added some good ones on TikTok.
The videos – have fun!
Great piece about the Making Of the Northumberland Zoo video in The Guardian here.
Here are the ones I just couldn’t find on YouTube:
Do you know any more? Let me know in the comments!
Heddwen Newton is an English teacher and translator. She is fascinated by contemporary English and the way English changes. Her newsletter is English in Progress. 1100 subscribers and growing every day!