The Rise and Fall of a “Brat Summer”
And what brands can learn from it
Forget the Grand Prix-winning ad campaigns — “Brat summer” now stands as the most impactful marketing campaign of 2024 so far.
If you’ve come across any of the lime-green-colored memes lately, you’d likely already know that “brat summer” is a recent trend inspired by British pop star Charli XCX’s latest album “BRAT,” released in June. The core concept of the album is being a “clubrat,” a “3–6–5 party girl” with a sense of giddy, bratty, unapologetic hedonism. And Charli’s team executed a hell of an album roll-out campaign to ensure that it has captured not only her core fanbase, but seemingly every chronically online person alive.
Many people have been writing articles, making video essays, and creating slideshows on Reddit to analyze Brat’s marketing campaign and why it has been so successful. In short, it has all the ingredients of a successful modern campaign — a simple yet highly memorable aesthetic (neon green, lowercase texts in Arial font, and low-res graphics), a finely calibrated run of breadcrumbing and edging the diehard fans, a surprise collaboration, a sustained offline stunt that fans amplified via social media, and most importantly, giving fans the permission and the tools to participate and co-create.
In short, brat summer has all the ingredients of a successful modern campaign.
Then, last week, the campaign breached barriers of its chronically online niche and crossed over into the mainstream news cycle, thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris embracing the Brat memes as she launched her presidential bid on Sunday. The memes predates the current news cycle — One widely seen edit featuring clips of the vice president, including her now infamous “coconut tree” line, set to Charli XCX’s “Von dutch” was posted to X on July 3, — but the frenzy around her new candidacy catapulted the memes into a new height, prompting Charli XCX to declare in a X post that “Kamala IS brat.” Thinkpieces soon followed to explain the impact and implications of such a major collision between pop culture and politics.
One of my personal favorite analyses of this whole “femininomenon” comes courtesy of Shirley Li’s brilliant piece for The Atlantic:
But what’s been particularly fascinating to watch is the rapid embrace of Harris as Brat-coded. Rather than reject a political campaign’s transparent attempt to connect with younger voters — the typical response when corporations or government officials attempt to jump on a meme bandwagon — the target demographic appears to be happily creating more memes, helping maintain Harris’s online visibility while the candidate works to establish her platform ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention.
Crucially, XCX herself sparked the connection, while Harris has not acknowledged the memes directly, publicly interacted with XCX, or tried to incorporate Brat language into her talking points. Instead, Harris’s campaign has leaned into Brat for her, a move that would be considered cringeworthy if dorkiness weren’t seen as an asset these days. Harris is the punch line and appears to be in on the joke. She can be seen as trying too hard and being too casual about the social-media chatter. The effect is a strategy that feels just uncool enough to be cool, obviously calculated but also creative — and genuinely funny.
This points to a crucial part of marketers wanting to jump on a meme and capitalize on the viral trends; If it doesn’t come off as authentic and on-brand, it will instead come off as forced and cringy — just look at people’s negative reaction to the MTA or the NYC mayor trying to get in on the buzz by referencing brat summer.
Yet, as with many a good meme, the minute it is embraced by the establishment is also its time of death. The widespread adoption and mainstreaming of the “brat summer” aesthetic have diluted its original counter-cultural cachet and become less “cool” to the in-crowd. Sure enough, some of Charli’s fanbase started to complain about her pushing Brat into the mainstream news cycle, and cultural commentators wasted no time to declare that “brat summer is over.” Although Charli herself has teased new releases coming next week to keep it going, there is no denying that brat summer has reached its logical end as a cool-kids’ meme. As Zoe Guy at Vulture puts it: “the meme has reached nuclear levels of institutional saturation and can no longer be funny.” Nothing kills a fun meme quicker than the pundits and news anchors failing to dissect it live on CNN.
As with many a good meme, the minute it is embraced by the establishment is also its time of death.
So, what did we learn from this whirlwind of a brat summer? A few key takeaways for brand marketers:
Everything can be a lifestyle brand these days — brat summer was more than just the fun yet introspective music that Charli XCX made; it was about that “provocative yet vulnerable” brat attitude that many young people aspire to during this chaotic and volatile summer. Branding matters, and knowing your audience and what will resonate with them is a good place to start building one.
Once you have a branding, you’ll need to encourage the fans to participate and amplify the message. Whether it’s a good ol’ fashioned offline stunt like the Brat Wall, or the BRAT meme generator tool that lets anyone create a brat-approved graphic in seconds. In the age of generative AI tools, creativity has never been more democratized. Still, it’s best to keep things simple and let your fans to easily put their own spins on things.
For brands that are especially concerned with connecting with Gen Z and younger audiences, you gotta remember to be “chill.” This is a generation that prioritizes mental well-being, while navigating mounting socio-economic challenges. Gen Z’s “chill” attitude is a form of rebellion against previous generations’ norms around career ambitions and life goals. Effective communication with them requires understanding and embracing these nuances, prioritizing authenticity, and speaking their language.
You should also do your best to ensure that the whole thing remains as grassroots as possible. Memes only thrive when their spread is organic and bottom-up — just contrast the enthusiasm behind all the “coconut tree” memes against the top-down forcedness of the infamous “Pokemon Go-to-the-poll.” Relinquishing control can be scary for brands, but it is necessary in order to let the fans own the conversation. The best brand marketers know how to seed a compelling brand story, push that out into the world, and then freely promote how the fan community chooses to run with it.
In the end, if you’re lucky, then your meme-driven brand campaign will become so big that it will break into mainstream consciousness and thus lose its coolness. And that’s OK! That means you’ve made it. After all, achieving mainstream recognition means your brand has transcended niche appeal and reached a broader audience, solidifying its place in cultural conversations. While some in your earlier fan base may see this as losing the edge or authenticity, it’s also an opportunity to evolve and find new ways to connect with both loyal fans and new followers.
In conclusion, the phenomenon of “brat summer” serves as a powerful reminder of the dynamic nature of branding in today’s digital age. To build a lasting brand, businesses must genuinely connect with their audience by being authentic and adaptable. Success hinges on fostering a strong community, being open to new tweaks, and staying ahead of the trend cycle. Ultimately, a truly successful brand is one that not only generates initial excitement but also leaves a long-term positive impact.
