Every few weeks, new sounds trend on the popular social media app “TikTok.” Although there are over 1 billion regular users of TikTok globally, many people from the same area will get similar types of videos on their for you pages.
For the past two weeks there has been a major trend surrounding “Berries and Cream.” The original audio comes from a Starburst commercial from 2007; the commercial features a man who does the “little lad dance” when he hears mention of berries and cream. The commercial itself is funny to watch, but the trend has gone far beyond that on TikTok.
People have inserted clips of “berries and cream” and the “little lad dance” or variations of those into almost any song or audio you can think of, ranging from “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen to Katy Perry saying, “you just have to say that you’re fine when you’re not really fine.”
Personally, my for you page has been full of the “little lad.” I asked a few people their thoughts on the trend.
“It’s one of my favorite trends ever because it’s so random. He reminds me of Lord Farquaad [from Shrek],” Naomie Heu, freshman, said.
The haircut of the little lad himself has become somewhat iconic, to the point where TikTok users with that same haircut have received comments under their content stating that they should be him for Halloween. Various levels of involvement in the trend have been reported.
“The little lad dance is a part of my bedroom routine,” junior Katie Federico said. “It makes me crave berries and cream.”
Junior Ally Thavanet said it is a little less prominent for her. “Sometimes when I’m alone I like to perform the berries and cream dance. I don’t post it. I keep the video for my eyes only.”
Even though this trend has exploded across the app, TikTok trends never last for long. TikTok sounds don’t quite have the staying power of Vines; by the end of this week, the little lad may not be popping up in many people’s feeds.
The most important thing about this and other trends is that it’s all in good fun. Dancing and singing along to this goofy audio can take away the stress of the day and maybe inspire a delicious snack