The Ice Bucket Challenge is Back & This Time It’s Supporting…Chili’s?
Plus some of our favorite TikTok trends & audios right now.
Ok Boomer is a column dishing out three quick takes on Gen Z, from Gen Z, about their impact on culture, food, hospitality, and more.
In 2025, What’s Old is New
The Ice Bucket Challenge is back. We’re only four months into the new year, and we’re already reviving trends from over a decade ago. This time, instead of ALS, mental health is the cause, with donations supporting the foundation Active Minds. The reboot has already raised over $300,000 and attracted celebrity attention, thanks in large part to Gen Z and Gen Alpha—many of whom remember the trend from childhood and are now finally old enough to join in themselves.
From our POV there’s nothing wrong with bringing back an old trend, especially for a good cause. (Did you know that the original Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $100 million for The ALS Association?!). However, the campaign has gotten some negative attention online, with some concerned that it will take away attention from ALS. Others find it insensitive that the challenge—which was created to mimic pain felt by ALS sufferers—was co-opted by another cause that is unrelated to this type of pain. The ALS Association jumped in voiced their support for the cause (in the most Gen Z way possible).
What is the Chili’s Challenge?
The Chili’s Challenge began as a satirical joke on TikTok making fun of the forced engagement structure of the ice bucket challenge where the participants must nominate three other people to join in and tag them. Back when the challenge first took off 11 years ago, people were less cynical about this type of engagement baiting. Today it’s criticizing the fact that it’s more about the clout (internet attention) from participating than it is about the cause the challenge is supporting. The original video has nearly 3 million views and over 600 thousand likes:
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Naturally, Gen Z took this about as seriously as they take celebrity lookalike contests—way too seriously. Young people from around the country made their way to Chili’s to record videos in front of the restaurant and challenge their friends to eat at Chili’s, and then enjoy a meal.
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All of this isn’t a coincidence, it comes at a moment when the fast-casual chain has begun to compete with fast food giants on value, especially with their smash-hit Triple Dipper and other value meals that rival drive-thru prices for a dine-in experience.
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Gen Z is Giving Away Free Market Research—All Thanks to TikTok Trends
Trending Audios, Explained
Trending audio isn’t just background noise—it’s one of the most powerful drivers of new trends on social media, especially TikTok. The contents of a trending audio can be from anything; short clips of a song, TV show, movie, or video are posted by someone on the platform. From there, anyone is able to use the audio in their content (*but brands beware—oftentimes original audios contain unlicensed copyrighted music, which can pose a legal risk). An audio starts trending when users incorporate it as the music for their own video, each sharing their own unique take on the trend. As the trend grows, the audio becomes instantly recognizable to those in the in-group, which allows them to easily understand the context of a video before even visually processing it.
Recently, we’ve noticed a few trending audios that have Gen Z sharing their food and beverage preferences for laughs, nostalgia, or even to test their compatibility with their partner. Take a look at some of our favorites below:
The Floor Audio Trend
Our first trend comes straight from Gen Z’s favorite source of media—network television! For context: competition show, The Floor, features contestants going head to head naming items in a certain category from photos, like fruits or fast food chains.
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Before this latest audio trend, the show itself went viral because of how deceptively easy it seems. Nothing like a high pressure situation to make you forget what a Honeydew melon is…
When the FOX network, and other TikTokers, began posting clips of the show, the audios quickly went viral as a way for users to give their opinions of the constant stream of items from a category. One audio listing types of desserts has over 400,000 videos using it, with people finding creative ways to react based on how much they like each dessert.
One thing we noticed: does Gen Z hate pie? There seems to be a general lack of enthusiasm for pie that is disturbing to this pumpkin pie lover. Purely speculating here.
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Other versions of the sound that have been cropping up include fast food restaurants (over 70k videos), and fruits (over 30k videos). They’re also getting their partners, friends, and families involved as a fun way to learn about each other's tastes.
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And, of course, even the Jenners got in on the action
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“Almost Forgot This is The Whole Point” Trend
This is a new viral movement where users share moments that remind them of life's simple joys. Accompanied by Matt Berry's song "Take My Hand," these videos often feature scenes like nature walks, travel, time with loved ones, and even a humorous approach of dinner with friends, emphasizing the importance of appreciating the present. Restaurants and F&B brands are tapping into the “Almost Forgot This Is the Whole Point” trend by showing aesthetic visuals of beautifully plated dishes, cocktails, views or slow-motion shots of meals being shared. It’s a way to highlight not just the product, but the experience—reminding viewers that gathering over good food, savoring a favorite drink, or taking a moment to enjoy something delicious is the point.
In one popular video, TikToker @mattdpoo humorously highlights his Raising Cane’s order as his personal "whole point," showing how even a favorite meal can capture the spirit of the trend.
Even the PGA Tour got in on the trend, using clips of players and fans soaking in a beautiful day on the course to remind viewers that it’s about more than just the competition.
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@nickwattsx put a funny spin on it by showing his group’s chaotic but joyful dinner out, proving that even the messy, hilarious parts of life are the whole point, too.
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“Perhaps a Salad?” Trend
This trend stems from the ever-memeable movie White Chicks. The audio begins by asking, “And for the lady, perhaps a salad?,” followed by, “Perhaps not. I’ll have…,” followed by a list of decadent menu items. The girlies are using this audio to show off their man's fruitier side by asking if they’d like a stereotypical “male drink” like beer or whisky, with their partner replying “perhaps not” while consuming the most colorful, fruity, floral concoction you’ve ever seen.
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In-line with Gen Z’s declining drinking habits, the trend has also branched out into coffee, where cold brew, refreshers, and MATCHA dominate. No one in their right mind would turn down a lavender matcha, right?
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TikTok Gone Reddit - “I’m bored, tell me…” Trend
Another viral TikTok trend is turning the platform into a confessional. Creators have been posting videos with prompts like “I’m bored, tell me something you wouldn’t dare admit on social media,” or, “Since I’m bored, tell me the worst thing you’ve found on your partner’s phone.” This invite others to share intriguing, shocking, or deeply personal stories in the comments. Other examples of this trend lean more toward advice-seeking, like “I’m bored, tell me the little things you started doing every day that made ridiculous improvements to your life.”
The prompts often lead to a flood of outrageous, secretive, and unfiltered responses—offering a sense of community and shared vulnerability as users bond over their experiences. The highly engaging nature of the comments keeps viewers scrolling, pumping up watch time and engagement, and ultimately helping fuel the trend’s virality.
One user, @thehealthyishdish ( here on Substack), used the trend to ask people to share their favorite ways to prepare vegetables—especially recipes so good that even picky eaters would enjoy them.
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Anther user, Joey Shaw, used the trend to ask people for their most controversial food opinions. The comment section is filled with hot takes, debates, and surprising food confessions.
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Even brands like Stanley are leaning into the trend, asking followers who they should collaborate with next—turning the comments into a wishlist of dream brand collabs.
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