As Brat summer comes to a close, we’re unpacking what made the world go neon green with envy, and how an expertly marketed album drop reached the White House
It’s been seven months since Charli XCX announced the release of her album Brat.
It’s been three months since Brat was released.
It’s been one week since Charli XCX announced a follow-up album, Brat and it’s completely different but also still Brat.
If you found yourself in essentially any corner of the internet this summer, you were exposed to Brat. At the precipice of recent marketing trends, the album’s reach extended far beyond the music industry, bleeding into technology, fashion, and brands worldwide, I mean, NASA posted about it:
While the trend’s virality might not be what it was at the beginning of this summer, its impact is lasting. Brat has become not just a phenomenon, but a lifestyle lived by fans worldwide and will likely remain in the popular memory of 2024, well, forever.
Though it may have seemed spontaneous, Brat’s cultural success can be largely attributed to meticulous planning to maximize the reach. Let’s recount the last few months and take a closer look at what might be this year’s most impactful marketing campaign.
The build-up
Any successful product, or in this case music, launch boasts a proper amount of build-up prior to the release date. In Brat’s case, walls and billboards in various cities were plastered with the album’s cover.
These seemingly simple green walls were self-generating advertisements, posted widely online by curious passersby for weeks before the release, while a new online discourse emerged; some fans immediately loved the shocking color while others didn't quite know how to feel. What is it they say, all attention is good attention?
The culture
Underneath all of the products and promotion behind the British pop star’s latest album, a telltale sign of impact emerged before the drop and has lingered for months since; a culture. While relatively undefinable, the quality of being “brat” consists of self-confidence and irreverence, partying, and recklessness.
Typically associated are also cigarettes, nightclubs, ripped clothing, and trucker hats. It all seems pretty nebulous, and yet, Charli and her team knew their audience like the back of their hands. So much so that brat seems less like a brand new phenomenon, and more like a long-awaited name for something fans have subscribed to for decades.
Brat culture also has roots in the album’s themes including generational trauma, womanhood, self-image, joy, and the complicated expectations of society. The dual nature of the music itself presented the perfect opportunity for mass identification among listeners. Songs like “I think about it all the time”–a complex contemplation of motherhood and the fleeting nature of time–deliver for fans craving something introspective and profound. Meanwhile, songs like “365” and “Club classics” celebrate party culture through amusing lyrics flirting with driving synth beats.
Fashion
Upon Brat’s announcement, its allure was instantly intertwined with an alarming shade of neon green. The distinctive green, often paired with a simple, pixelated image of the album’s title (in Arial font no less) made for the perfect design to be mass-produced. Popular retailer Urban Outfitters released an extensive collection of Brat themed clothing and accessories while Charli’s official merch store released hats, shirts, bags, and jewelry. But it wasn't only bright green garments that became associated with the Brat “aesthetic,” but several other statements worn by Charli herself; wraparound sunglasses, trucker hats, ripped tees and tanks, and a generally informal, at times messy style.
Collaborations
The fashion movement launched by Brat Summer happened alongside a whole manner of Brat-themed products in stores including hair accessories, phone cases, and themed drinks in coffee shops like the “Iced Brat Matcha” at San Diego’s La Clochette. It’s safe to say that fans appreciated as many avenues as possible to embrace Brat culture.
Technology
If there ever was a trend that technology played an integral part in…it’s this one. While Charli XCX has a loyal fan base, Brat managed to garner the support of fans worldwide; some were only familiar with one or two songs, while others religiously studied lyrics.
On a large scale, technology is responsible for the success of any music nowadays, artists tease and announce release dates, collaborations with brands, concerts, and everything in between all thanks to technology and social media. Then, of course, there are the more hyperspecific ways that a song starts trending, and in this case, there’s a certain app that popularized the most successful songs.
With 154,881,726 streams, “Apple” is second only to “360.” The commonality between them? both songs trended on TikTok this summer and fanned the Brat flame. One TikTok user @kelley.heyer created a viral dance to the song, with celebrities like Brooke Shields, Glen Powell, Bella Hadid, and none other than Charli herself creating videos of the dance. Platforms like TikTok allow for access like never before, crucial to the making and execution of a trend. The more access people have to a trend, the more attention it generates.
When Charli XCX is on your algorithm-generated “for you page” doing a dance trend to her own song, her phone leisurely propped up, you feel that much closer to her. This closeness wasn’t only on Tiktok though, the artist performed several rave-style concerts, namely at Ibiza’s club Amnesia, where the entire set was recorded and posted online for fans to enjoy worldwide. You can watch it now here.
You thought the internet’s obsession ended there? Think again. This summer also saw the Brat-related content of many creators blow up, generating even more buzz around the album and its artist. Content creator Joe Hegyes went viral for his Charli XCX impression (he got the hair right and everything) while TikToker Nadia (@grapejuicenads) went from fan to followed by Charli on Tiktok–she was recently seen in a video with the singer after being featured on the jumbotron at a stop on the “Sweat” tour. Not to mention the brat v. demure trend made viral by TikTok user @joolieannie in August.
Essentially, if brat is bold, messy, and loud, demure is shy, refined, and “very mindful.” Comparisons of these two attitudes were iterated by companies everywhere, PETA, Baskin Robbins, and MAC Cosmetics were among the brands that contributed to the trend.
Politics
Perhaps one of the more unexpected places Brat has shown up is politics. Just as Kamala Harris became the likely Democratic nominee in July, Charli XCX released this statement on X (formerly Twitter):
To which the Kamala Harris headquarters account responded:
The combination of not only the singer’s support but seemingly the Vice President’s approval that she is, in fact, brat sent the internet into a frenzy. A wave of video edits, memes, and even “Kamala is brat” merchandise flooded online spaces in response, and suddenly what started as marketing for an album reached the White House.
Now, let’s for a moment really consider the implications here, while Vice President Harris embracing the brat culture alongside so many fans worldwide might seem like an entertaining yet fleeting moment, it’s so much more. Remember how I brought up access and the ways Brat has allowed everyone to feel like they're a part of something? How the tracks address so many tastes and topics? This move by Kamala was a tactic to bring the younger generation closer to herself and to stand out from former presidents not only as a woman but as a contemporary presidential candidate who’s up to speed with the latest trends.
You might still be wondering “Ok, but how did Brat’s reach extend to the capital?” Well, like a perfect storm, the conditions were just right. Who knows how the album’s response might have differed even a year earlier in the face of Barbie’s reign? Charli confessed that fan fave “Apple” was almost left off the album…imagine the loss. Brat’s success is thanks to an amalgamation of every brand, concert, post, creator, and trend that led to a truly staggering culmination
Well, we went from green-painted walls, to viral dances, to the political impact of one tweet. No post could ever document the multitudes that Brat contains, but we sure did try. While Charli XCX officially declared the iconic summer over, its impact will live on. Those of us who got to experience the last few months of mayhem will forever remember it as the summer of Brat.
