The Remedy | January 16th

The Remedy | January 16th

Sludge Videos Are Taking Over TikTok—And People’s Mind - Anna Mattson at Scientific American | Image: Matt Navarra via Threads

CM Rx: "Sludge content" or "overstimulation content" is a type of video, typically viral, that features multiple clips playing simultaneously on screen. A sludge video is basically a video of videos. I personally have only seen the lowest form of this: stories from Reddit read through using a text-to-speech effect over a clip of someone playing?Subway Surfers or Minecraft. These videos essentially treat the game play as something to watch while you listen to the Reddit story being told through an engaging text-to-speech voiceover. The reason for this to even exist, is due to our diminishing attention spans which would never allow us to listen to a Reddit story without having something to watch.?The highest form of sludge content, however, really is a feast for the eyes.

There has been a rise in "media multitasking," which is when someone engages in various forms of digital media on multiple devices simultaneously: watching Netflix, texting and checking Instagram at the same time. There's strong evidence that this has a significant impact on the developing brain and sludge content is essentially media multitasking on steroids.?

We live in an attention-as-currency economy and sludge content, as wild as it is, is attention grabbing. Knowing brands are consistently?fighting for consumers' attention, sludge content creates a very unique opportunity for them. Obviously, most brands aren't going to use clips from Family Guy or a mobile game, but they can create their own version, like TUMS?for example. Not exactly as obscure as OG sludge, but at least they're trying!?


Your Weekly Dosage*

*may contain viral side effects ??

  • X removes support for NFT profile pictures
  • Instagram is working on a new sticker: Fitness
  • TikTok launches Chromecast support
  • Instagram tests option to create Stories for friends
  • X announces expanded partnership with Shopify
  • YouTube now lets Creators upload podcasts via RSS feed
  • Instagram is working on the ability to auto-translate your captions in Reels


From my TL to yours ??


?? Spotlight ??

Stanley Cup and ColourPop via TikTok and Oreo via X

Twilight is definitely having a resurgence, 16 years later.?Almost every other day I see a different piece of content from either a creator or a brand jumping on some of the most recognizable aspects of the film. From the infamous Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation?song to the moody color scheme, the love for Twilight?lore is as infinite as a vampire's lifetime – and the internet has content to prove it.

Stanley Cup?– who's also having its moment in culture – didn't have a direct collab with the Twilight franchise, but their new tumbler colors are so Twilight-coded that they jumped right on this trend for the?announcement. Another example is from?Oreo: one of the most iconic quotes from the franchise is "this is the skin of a killer, Bella" (it's even a meme) and Oreo took that line and made it their own. Silly, yes, but the girls that get it, get it.?

Takeaway here is that social is all about testing and learning, and the power of social lies within being open to listening beyond brand conversations, exploring niche audiences/topics/cultural lexicon.


P.S. for my LEGO lovers out there, a Cullen House set is in the works. ???


The Remedy is crafted and curated by Lafayette American's Senior Social Strategist, Caite Marchione. ????


Bruna Camargo

Director of Social @ Lafayette American

1 年

The vampires never left.

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