User-generated content (UGC) is fueling trends all over social media. They range from carefully curated campaigns to completely unexpected viral moments. Some make perfect sense, while others leave us wondering, how did this even become a thing? Brands that embrace UGC can tap into organic engagement and allow their audience to become co-creators of their story. These viral moments offer valuable insights into what captures attention today—whether through strategic marketing efforts or sheer internet randomness. Let’s explore some notable recent examples and study what made them take off.
1. Rare Beauty
Rare Beauty’s entire brand identity is built on promoting inclusivity and self-acceptance. Founded by Selena Gomez, the brand’s mission is to create makeup that helps individuals feel unique and “rare.”
In 2020, Rare Beauty launched the #WeAreRare campaign, inviting customers to share their stories of self-acceptance while showcasing themselves wearing the brand’s products. This movement quickly gained traction on TikTok, creating a ripple effect not just within the beauty community but also among mental health advocates. By encouraging real, personal stories, the campaign resonated deeply with a broad audience and strengthened Rare Beauty’s emotional connection with its consumers.
Why It Went Viral: People crave a sense of belonging. By fostering an inclusive space for self-expression, Rare Beauty turned its campaign into a community-driven movement, sparking widespread engagement.
2. Abercrombie Black Friday Sale
Abercrombie & Fitch is known for having some of the best Black Friday deals, and customers eagerly anticipate them all season long for one key reason, the stackable promo codes. During Black Friday, A&F provides influencers with exclusive discount codes for their followers, which can be used on top of the already-discounted site-wide sale.
It’s quite literally the best deal to exist, and so many shoppers showcase their hauls on TikTok. Despite not having an official UGC campaign, the brand’s discount strategy organically fuels viral content. The enthusiasm around the deals naturally generates buzz, making Abercrombie’s Black Friday sales a recurring social media phenomenon.
Why It Went Viral: Not all UGC needs to be planned. A great deal—especially one that feels exclusive—can spark excitement and drive organic content
3. Set Active: SET Surprise
SET Active found a creative way to clear excess inventory while generating excitement through SET Surprise, a mystery package filled with a random assortment of workout sets. When customers received their surprise packages, they took to TikTok to film unboxings, sharing their reactions with the community. The mystery element fueled curiosity and FOMO, driving more people to purchase their own.
The trend caught fire, and soon enough, all three versions of SET Surprise—the 3-item, 5-item, and 8-item packages—sold out. This campaign proved how exclusivity and surprise elements can drive organic UGC, setting a new trend for mystery boxes in retail.
Why It Went Viral: Unique brand experiences also create buzz. When consumers feel like they’re getting something exciting, they want to share it—and others want in on it too.
4. Nara Smith Parody
It’s 2025, and if you haven’t heard of Nara Smith yet, you might be living under a rock. Nara Smith is a German model and social media influencer known for her cooking videos where she makes everything from scratch. Oh, and by the way, she has 11.4 million followers on TikTok. Last year, her content became a massive trend due to the wild outfits she wore while making things you'd never imagine crafting from scratch—like cereal, ice cream, gum, and even lotion. People of all ages on TikTok were not only fascinated but also amused by the absurdity of it all. Why would anyone spend hours making gum when you can buy it for a couple of bucks anywhere?
This led fans to create parody content, where they impersonated Nara by wearing fancy dresses and attempting to make “something” from scratch, often with hilarious results.
Why It Went Viral: Nara Smith went viral because she offers something incredibly unique—no one else on the platform is creating content like hers. As for why parody videos of her took off? Simple: they’re just funny.
5. Pretending I Got Into Harvard…
Every year, when college decision season rolls around, high school seniors post reaction videos to their acceptance letters. During this time, many others create reaction videos that are, well, fake. The "Pretending I Got Into Harvard... because we're bored" trend went viral on TikTok for a season. People filmed their families reacting to their dogs "getting into Harvard" or even elderly grandparents acting like they received an acceptance letter from the prestigious school.
Why It Went Viral: Many users enjoy incorporating family members or loved ones into their content. By filming lighthearted videos like these, people can create fun memories together, making it a shared experience that resonates with a broad audience.
6. Give Me My Money Trend
If I had to pick one TikTok trend that went viral across multiple social media platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, it would be the "Give Me My Money" trend. This prank involves a group of people standing in a circle, each person dramatically shouting, "Give me my money." The rest of the group cheers them on. However, one person (usually the last one) doesn't know it’s a prank. They applaud for everyone in the circle, but when it's their turn, no one claps for them. The goal is to capture their reaction to the awkward silence when they’re left without applause. NFL teams like the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Chargers even hopped on to this trend.
Why It Went Viral: People love something that's easy, fun, and shareable. What makes this prank particularly entertaining is its sheer absurdity. Without any context, everyone can laugh because the person who doesn’t receive applause looks hilariously embarrassed.
7. Stanley Cup Craze
In 2023, a UGC video of the Stanley Quencher tumbler surviving a car fire went viral on TikTok, sparking massive hype online and all over the news. Since then, videos of people hunting for these tumblers at Target, showing off their collections, and testing their durability in extreme ways have flooded social media platforms. This craze has turned into UGC gold for Stanley, generating $750 million in revenue. At this point, the brand barely needs to market the product—social media is doing it for them.
Why It Went Viral: When a product reaches cult status, FOMO drives demand. The more people post, the more others want to join the trend.
8. NPC, a New Slang
The term NPC (short for non-playable character) started on TikTok as a way to describe people who seem overly scripted or robotic, just like background characters in video games. What made this slang go viral wasn’t just its accuracy, but the wave of UGC that followed. People began posting videos calling out “NPC moments” in everyday life—like someone walking in a straight line without reacting to their surroundings or responding to questions with the most generic answers possible. There have always been people who behave in ways that feel oddly autopiloted, but there was never a single word to describe them—until now. NPC perfectly filled this gap in the English language. As more users began to share videos labeling NPC-like behaviors, the term became internet slang and made its way into our everyday vocabulary.
Why It Went Viral: Social media thrives on relatability, and NPC gave people a way to describe something they had always noticed but never had the words for. The flood of UGC, people sharing clips of NPC-like behavior in real life, fueled the trend.
9. Uniqlo Crossbody Bag Craze
If there’s one thing TikTok can do, it’s turn an affordable item into a must-have. The Uniqlo Round Mini Shoulder Bag, originally a simple and functional crossbody, became a sensation when users started posting about how much it could hold. People began stuffing absurd amounts of items inside—wallets, water bottles, even entire meal containers—to prove its practicality. Soon enough, Uniqlo stores were selling out, and the bag became known as a must-buy for anyone looking for a sleek and budget-friendly everyday bag.
Why It Went Viral: When a product is affordable, stylish, and functional, UGC once again does the marketing for you. For some reason, everyone feels a sense of urgency when they see any video with a “must-have.”
10. The Roman Empire Trend
Have you ever asked a man how often he thinks about the Roman Empire? The answers ranged from “every day, once a week, every couple of days” for a lot of men. This trend started when TikTok users asked their boyfriends, dads, husbands, and brothers this question. The women were stunned by how frequently they thought about the Roman Empire—because who actually thinks about the Roman Empire in their life? It soon became a catchphrase, with people using “my Roman Empire" to describe something they think about often that others probably don’t. For example, “The good-looking stranger who held the door for me on a rainy day at a coffee shop is my Roman Empire.”
Why It Went Viral: It was so random yet completely unpredictable. The absurdity of the question and the even more absurd realization that many men genuinely do think about the Roman Empire often made it a meme on social media.
Final Thoughts
I realize that was a pretty broad overview of recent UGC that went viral. Many brands are still trying to crack the code on what makes UGC go viral, and my goal with this article was to showcase the variety of ways UGC is created across social media platforms. It’s incredibly diverse, with different fun trends driving it all. If you’re looking to tap into UGC, think outside the box of traditional marketing—jump on trends you see on TikTok and make your brand part of the meme. If you prefer a more structured approach, try implementing marketing strategies that encourage UGC creation. The world of UGC is constantly evolving, and we’re all learning how to navigate it bit by bit.
