In spring 2023, Fruit Roll-Ups captured the internet’s imagination with the viral TikTok ice cream trend, driving a massive wave of engagement and follower growth on Instagram. The excitement was electric, showcasing Fruit Roll-Ups' ability to spark playful, shareable moments that resonated with audiences everywhere. But as the trend faded and new conversations emerged online, the challenge became clear: how could we recreate that buzz?
Social media has always been Fruit Roll-Ups’ playground—a space to push creative boundaries and invite followers to play along. To keep the momentum alive, we needed to tap into the brand’s flair for fun, foldable creations and find the next big moment that would leave people asking, “Did Fruit Roll-Ups really post that?” The launch of a new season of Is It Cake? on Netflix gave us the perfect cultural moment to spark fresh intrigue and delight our audience all over again.
We observed that, while the majority of the conversation focused on hyper-realistic cakes (on TikTok, #isitcake had racked up over 652 million views!), there was growing engagement around “fail” content, with users appreciating the humor in the imperfect. Comments like “Why was this so hard” signaled a shift in audience sentiment, leaning into the joke. Recognizing this trend, we stayed true to our playful DNA, and leaned into the parody style, anticipating that our playful, young audience would find it relatable and refreshing.
So, our team did what we do best - we got scrappy. We put together a quick, 20-second short-form video featuring “fake” everyday objects crafted entirely from Fruit Roll-Ups: a phone, a cup, and even a hamburger, each one perfectly imperfect. From the contagious background giggles to the deliberately (un)skilled knifework, fans got a behind-the-scenes peek into our playful process. They rushed to the comments, joining in the jokes and demanding more of the fun!
The results? Not fake at all. Through an impressive 20 MILLION organic views (99.9% of which were new viewers), we were able to expand Fruit Roll-Up’s reach far beyond our current fanbase, gaining over 12.2k followers from the video alone. Achieving this kind of reach with one post would typically require at least $50K in paid media for Fruit Roll-Ups, but we drove these gains with $0.
The video gathered an impressive 160k shares with fans not only watching but actively saving it, with a nearly 55,000% increase in saves vs monthly brand benchmarks. By embracing the unexpected and inviting our audience to join in on the fun, we turned followers into fans eager to engage, fueling an incredible 23% follower growth between March and May 2024.
The playful approach resonated. Fruit Roll-Ups didn’t just spark a fleeting trend—we leaned into our role as the brand that inspires creative play and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
