Borkowski Media Trends: Kamala x Charli XCX, Olympics & Mr Beast

The cultural phenomenon that was Brat Summer and how Kamala Harris leveraged it for her presidential campaign, the curious case of the Parisian Olympics and the ongoing Mr Beast crisis...

The Rise & Fall of Brat Summer

Millions will be scratching their heads this week asking what an earth is ‘Brat Summer’. Look at Google Trend data (below). You’ll see a massive spike for ‘brat’ mainly down to a bizarre crossover between Kamala Harris (more below) and pop star Charli XCX, whose album has had a dream run, both critically and spawning a social media movement/trend that’ll we’ll try and briefly unpick.

For several years, Charli XCX has been growing a cult-like following, thanks to a series of critically acclaimed albums and an uncompromising ‘party girl’ persona mixed with an endearing vulnerability that resonates particularly well with the LGBTQ+ community. Most fans consider her album ‘BRAT’ to be her masterpiece. But ‘BRAT’ is more than an album.

We’ve spoken a lot about TikTok’s impact on the music industry. It is the battleground for artists looking to maximise their music’s relevance. Artists and labels dream of viral moments - it can be incredibly lucrative when something catches fire on TikTok. But Brat isn’t just a moment; it’s a movement, characterised by its lime green aesthetic (album cover below). It set the tone for Summer, bringing a distinct colour, vibe, and energy that captivated a niche audience before surging into the mainstream.

The marketing team behind Brat Summer leveraged user-generated content to amplify the album, and enthusiasts shared everything in a lime green embellished with “BRAT,” mirroring last year’s Barbie pink phenomenon.

The exclusivity of Brat Summer was both its allure and its downfall. When VP Harris announced her presidential run, Charli XCX’s enthusiastic endorsement on social media - “Kamala IS Brat” - marked a turning point. Harris even changed her social media borders to Brat Green.

This rapid mainstreaming led to a familiar pattern: the original community declared Brat Summer oversaturated and, ultimately, dead.

Charli XCX responded to this shift by acknowledging the criticism, sharing articles proclaiming Brat Summer’s death with a cryptic message: “Oh? See you next week :)”. This episode has shown Charli as a bit of a marketing genius, and this is an informative case study on how an artist gracefully manages social media fame. But make no mistake - this chapter required years of hard work - Charli has been consistently releasing high-quality records, and when her time came, she manoeuvred around Brat Summer as effectively as it gets.

Are the Paris Olympics Down the Seine?

Even before Emmanuel Macron called an election six weeks after the Paris Olympics, it was clear that the 2024 games would be turbulent. French activists on social media have long been promising to use the Olympics to highlight the country’s penchant for protest. One threat saw calls for Parisians to defecate into the Seine, highlighting the river’s pollution problem, and trolling Macron and the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo who vowed to go for a swim before any Olympians take to the water. Hidalgo has since gamely followed through. Sadiq take note!

With the opening ceremony due to be broadcast around the world this evening, things have taken a more destructive turn with “coordinated malicious acts” of arson across French train lines. SNCF and Eurostar appeared to have acted swiftly to minimise chaos and retain calm, but it won’t be the start French leadership would have liked to the Olympic fortnight. And it seems even unearthly forces have it out for Paris, as ceremony organisers admitted they may have to implement contingency plans as the city is forecast for a deluge.

Amongst all this doom and gloom, it is perhaps too easy to cast our minds back to the rose-tinted summer of 2012 when London bore the Olympic burden. Misty-eyed city residents still speak about it as a time when strangers spoke to each other on the tube, political divisions were united behind our sporting heroes, and Queen Elizabeth jumped out of a helicopter with James Bond. We seem to have forgotten the apocalyptic predictions and unrest ahead of 2012. While the world seems a bit darker these days, we may one day all be looking back on the Vie on Rose vibes of Paris 2024.

Mr Beast Addresses Team Member Allegations

The wacky world of YouTube has breached mainstream media with news that Mr Beast’s long-time friend and collaborator Ava Kris Tyson has been accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor. The severity of these allegations is complex for Mr Beast, who built his brand with the support of childhood friends like Ava. This tight group have been ever-present throughout his rise to the top.

The alleged victim and those who've worked with him before are stressing that nothing untoward happened, making this a complex situation for Mr Beast. However, given the nature of these allegations, he has been forced to take swift action by removing Ava from his company and seeking independent advice from a third party.

The problem from here on out is that it’s a live issue with millions speculating on the internet. The longer this is left without an answer, the more conspiracy theories surface and the more ferocious this saga becomes. Misinformation will be rife with accounts and influencers leveraging this situation for clicks or their own culture wars agenda. Mr Beast must have a plan for how he deals with the immediate fallout while waiting for the report’s outcome and carefully plan for every scenario when the report is published.

Ultimately, Mr Beast and his videos centre around giving back, which his subscribers have bought into; they are adamant he is changing the world for the better. So, depending on the findings from this report, Mr Beast may have no option but to distance himself (publicly at least) from his friend to avoid damage to his brand.