Viral King

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet lately, you’ve seen him: black singlet, gold chain, bad bowl cut dancing like nobody was watching on the island of Ibiza. Jack Kay — better known as the Ibiza Final Boss — went from construction worker on holiday to global meme in a matter of days.

The video clocked up nearly 24 million views on TikTok alone. In gaming lingo, a “final boss” is the ultimate level-up, and Jack (who hails from Newcastle, England) quickly became the epitome of the British lad abroad. He’s already signed with a talent agency, lined up a “tour,” and is set to make £250,000 if he plays his cards right.

Why did he blow up? And why Ibiza Final Boss? Jack wasn’t even really dancing; it was more like a carefree side-to-side shuffle with the occasional fist pump. But with the questionable bowl cut and a gold chain, you’ve got a cartoonish, over-the-top character you’d expect to face as the final boss of a computer game set in Ibiza.

And it captured what internet virality is all about: it was timely, it was (albeit absurdly) authentic, and it was unintentionally hilarious. In today’s fame economy, that’s rocket fuel.

And brands can benefit from jumping on the meme trend – and they did. UK retailer Curry’s posted an edited Henry Hoover complete with a gold chain and sunglasses, and holiday provider Onthebeach unveiled ads featuring Jack’s infamous haircut as an umbrella and inviting people to take on the Ibiza final boss. The ones who jumped on quickly got shared in people’s feeds (and in marketing agency’s blog posts) for free, without the need of ad spend or targeting.

For brands, the takeaway here is that sometimes you can spend millions chasing authenticity, but nothing beats the raw chaos of real life. The things people share most aren’t polished campaigns — they’re moments that feel too human to ignore.

If your campaigns aren’t getting engagement, maybe it’s time to rethink what “content worth sharing” actually looks like.

Cowboy Closeups

While Ibiza crowned a new folk hero, McDonald’s Canada was busy suiting up for Stampede season.

Their new campaign, Cowboy Closeups, hides Big Macs in beadwork, and fries in fringing. It’s less “billboard” and more “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg hunt” across Calgary’s out-of-home scene.

On the surface, it’s a playful design. But it’s also actually super clever, and goes much deeper than that: it’s a nod to Canadian farmers and ranchers — the people behind McDonald’s menu.

It’s proof that hyper-local storytelling works (even for global players). Maccas has positioned itself not just as a sponsor of the Stampede, but woven itself into the fabric (literally) of Canadian rural life and community.

Reddit v Google

Reddit is getting ready to level up. No longer just the forum website you head to when searching super niche advice, Reddit is now aiming to become your go-to search engine. CEO Steve Huffman laid it out clearly on their latest earnings call: Reddit wants to own that search journey.

They’ve already rolled out Reddit Answers, an AI-powered tool that surfaces community responses, and plans to merge it all into a unified search experience.

Why? Because millions of people already turn to Reddit for answers that feel more real, authentic, and useful than what they get from Google. Now, Reddit wants to cut out the middleman and keep that info in-house.

For marketers, this shift means SEO isn’t just about Google anymore. It’s about understanding how platforms driven by community can shape how people discover, decide, and buy.

Keen To Dive In?

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