How ‘Alex From Target’ Became An Internet Superstar

How ‘Alex From Target’ Became An Internet Superstar

This story was originally published by

How one image wrought internet havoc and brought fame for on US Target cashier.

B&T Magazine by B&T Magazine



In light of 60-plus serious news articles, a million tweets, and at least one piece of uncomfortable fan fiction, you may be tempted to question just who is “Alex from Target” — and how did he clamber his way to Internet-wide fame?

But avoid the urge. It will get you nowhere. Such questions aren’t only unsatisfying – they’re also besides the point. Alex from Target is precisely who his name would imply: A young man named Alex, employed as a cashier at the mega-retailer Target. And his claim to international Internet stardom is essentially the same: He was bagging a customer’s purchases, just as tens of thousands of other Target cashiers around the country do daily.

On this day, however, someone snapped a picture of Alex – gaze averted, hair artfully gelled to the left – as he slid what appears to be a cleaning product across the scanner. And some time after that, a young woman with 14,000 Twitter followers and an eye for attractive young men of the just-post-pubescent boy-band variety, posted said picture with the enthusiastic caption “YOOOOOOOOOO.” Count them: 10 Os.

Within the space of six hours, “Alex from Target” – whose actual Twitter handle is purportedly @acl163, and who seems equally bemused and flattered by the whole thing — has become the subject not only of countless derivative memes and impersonators, but also an entire screaming teen fandom … not unlike the ones enjoyed by, say, One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer.

Read the full article here. Image via Mashable.




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