Why Mustard Skittles and Tiffany-branded sneakers are social media marketing gold

There are certain products that just seem perfect for going viral on social media. Some, like the mystery flavors of Coca-Cola Creations or Mustard Skittles, are made for consumers who will try anything once. While others, like the sneaker collab between Nike and Tiffany & Co. appeal to consumers who want to show off.

Here are four examples of products that are made for social media fame.

1. Coca-Cola Creations

In 2022, Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola Creations, which releases limited-edition products, the first of which was Coca-Cola Starlight.

Coca-Cola has since released eight other flavors, including Coca‑Cola Y3000 (made by AI), Coca‑Cola Happy Tears Zero Sugar (available exclusively on TikTok Shop) and it’s latest, Coca‑Cola K-Wave Zero Sugar (which features “an additional burst of fruit flavor and K-Pop magic”).

• K-Wave is being promoted by three new K-pop groups, NMIXX, ITZY, and Stray Kids. Coca-Cola is also working with J.Y. Park, the founder of multinational entertainment conglomerate JYP Entertainment.
• A snippet of “Like Magic," a song the beverage company created in collaboration with the K-pop groups, currently has 4.6 million views and one million likes on TikTok.

The recipe for success: Appealing to consumers’ sense of curiosity and passion, Coca-Cola Creations are practically made for social media.

• Flavors like Coca-Cola K-Wave will appeal to dedicated fans looking for ways to show love for their favorite K-pop band, while others, like Starlight or Happy Tears, invite consumers to try it and share their opinions on the mystery flavors.
• The limited-edition nature of the products can cause a sense of urgency, prompting consumers to encourage others to “get it while it lasts.”

2. Mustard Skittles

For National Mustard Day last year, French’s teamed up with Skittles on a limited-edition release of Mustard Skittles and a “mustard mobile” tour across the East Coast.

• This isn’t the first time French’s has released a mustard-flavored product to promote National Mustard Day.
• The condiment brand has also collaborated on mustard ice cream, mustard beer, and mustard doughnuts.

The unusual flavor was featured in headlines from publications such as Food & Wine to CNN, and had some TikTok users driving hours just to get a taste of them. Some consumers even tried to make their own.

The recipe for success: The appeal of Mustard Skittles (or any other French’s mustard collabs) is not the taste, but the novelty. Consumers get to claim they’ve tried something new and different, and French’s gets to increase brand awareness. If the product tastes gross, so what? That’s kind of the point.

3. Nike/Tiffany Air Force 1 1837

Tiffany & Co. and Nike teamed up last year on a pair of Air Force 1 sneakers that featured the Tiffany Blue swoosh.

• Only 1,837 pairs of the shoe were produced, a play on the year that Tiffany & Co. was founded.
• Since the launch, the shoe has been seen on celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, BTS band members J-Hope and RM, musical artist Ciara, and LeBron James.

The recipe for success: Nike and Tiffany & Co. have devoted consumer bases, but combined, they reach a much wider target, appealing to both Nike’s streetwear fans and Tiffany’s luxury lovers. The sneakers are packaged in a co-branded Tiffany Blue box, making them ideal for unboxing videos like this one.

Photo: Tiffany & Co.

4. MSCHF’s Global Supply Chain Telephone Bag

MSCHF is an art collective known for releasing absurd fashion pieces such as the Big Red Boots or a microscopic handbag.

Recently, the collective released its Global Supply Chain Telephone Bag, which was created “via a telephone game of design in four far-flung countries” that is intended to “expose consumer myths about concepts like ‘value,’ ‘authenticity,’ and ‘style,’” per the New York Times.

The resulting bag is a mishmash of some of the most popular luxury handbags on the market—the Hermès Birkin, the Celine Luggage bag, the Dior Saddle Bag, and the Balenciaga Hourglass—made by four different factories in four different countries.

The recipe for success: Despite MSCHF’s message behind the bag, consumers snapped it up just as quickly as any other limited-edition luxury item, as it has now sold out. Ironically, the collective’s items have become a status symbol of their own, with models and stylists using it to signal they’re “in the know” by parading them at fashion week.

Photo: MSCHF

What’s the value of virality? Getting views on social media doesn’t always translate into sales, but it does open brands up to a wider audience.

• We forecast 206.4 million US adults will use social networks in 2024, over three-quarters (77.2%) of the population.
• US social network users will spend almost two hours (1:50) on social platforms this year, per our February 2024 forecast.
• Over half (50.3%) of US social network users, or 110.4 million US consumers, will purchase something from a social platform this year, per our September 2023 forecast.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.