THE WEEKLY SCROLL

CROCS LAUNCHES MASCOT

Welcome to the world, Niles!

Crocs has officially brought its crocodile mascot to life. Niles has technically been hiding in plain sight since the beginning, with the crocodile already part of Crocs’ original logo, but now he’s a six-foot-tall character with his own personality, social account and a new content series alongside Crocs employees.

We’ve seen a real surge in mascots over the past year, whether they’re being introduced for the first time, brought back to life or fake killed off (looking at you, Duolingo).

With brands competing for attention through entertainment, mascots give them another way to show some personality and have a bit of fun. Throw humour into the mix and the content opportunities are pretty endless.

VINE IS (KIND OF) BACK

Divine, the Vine-inspired app backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is officially open to the public. Six-second looping videos are back, with more than 2.5 million videos rescued from the original Vine archive. So yes, some of your favourite ancient internet videos might actually be in there!

There is one important rule on the app: AI-generated content is banned. Divine is keeping the focus on human-made content and bringing back the internet creativity that made Vine so good in the first place.

And to really complete the 2016 comeback, Taco Bell has joined as the first brand partner while bringing back menu items from the same year. The 2016 revival continues.

JO MALONE ENTERS FORTNITE

How do you translate a fragrance into a video game? Jo Malone is giving it a go.

For the launch of its new Sea Salt & Bergamot Cologne, the brand has entered Fortnite for its first-ever gaming activation. Players can step into a British seaside-inspired experience, with the campaign also popping up through gaming creators and livestreams.

Rather than building a whole new Fortnite world, Jo Malone is joining a space with an active community of players. It’s also a pretty unexpected place to find a luxury fragrance brand, which is exactly why this one caught our attention!

WHIMSEYMAXXING IS EVERYWHERE

After Kylie Jenner posted her bejewelled birthday cake last week, colourful gems have been popping up all over the feed. To-go cups, lipsticks, phone cases, moisturisers, if you can stick a jewel on it, someone probably has.

Decorating everyday objects isn’t new, but whimsymaxxing takes the personalisation up a notch. It’s colourful, over-the-top and very much about making the boring little things you use every day a bit more fun.

Consider this your permission to bedazzle your water bottle.

A WIN IS A WIN TIKTOK

Sometimes things don’t quite go to plan. Sometimes they somehow work out even better. That’s basically the premise behind the “a win is a win” trend popping up on TikTok, where creators start with something that went wrong before revealing the unexpected upside.

Relatable, easy to understand and very easy to put your own spin on. We’ll take the win.

The internet is clearly in the mood to have a bit more fun right now.

And between six-second videos making a comeback and people bedazzling everything in sight, we’re not complaining.

See you on next week’s scroll.