In this first of a new series, B&T will be asking the industry’s top strategists to share their Culture Bites — the nuggets of culture that they think we need to be paying attention to. We’re starting with WPP’s chief strategy officer, Katie Rigg-Smith.
Something I am thoroughly enjoying playing out in culture right now is the slang of Gen Z and Alpha being used by Boomers in a total parody to advertise products or businesses.
Anyone who has anything to do with the younger generations will have found themselves scrambling for an urban dictionary of late to work out that rizz stands for charisma, being told that you slay is high praise indeed and everything is in fact, demure.
Taking on the language of the young is not for the faint-hearted, and when done badly it’s well, cringe. No cap.
I know only too well that when I use words like sigma it has my children low-key freaking out.
But the dry tone and completely delightful way some boomers are approaching it shows the fun that can be had when two ends of the generational spectrum unite over the same words.
A TikTok for an 880-year-old bed and breakfast in Oxfordshire has gone viral after the owners had their Gen Z daughter write the script. The way the mum delivers it is giving.
Similarly, Northumberland Zoo in the UK had its Gen Z staff write their marketing script, again for the older generation to deliver. As they say, it hits different.
@northumberlandzoo Our Zoo Directors didn’t understand the assignment. #genz #genzmarketing #viral #fyp #funny #marketing ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova – TOKYO Lonesome Blue
Given these words have infiltrated the mainstream culture they will inevitably be replaced very quickly as they are now too obvious to give main character energy.
IYKYK.
This will of course leave us scrambling again to find the urban dictionary. But for the time being, it is fun to see how these words are being used to bridge the generational divide bruh.
