Brands, Drinks and Podcasts: How Viral Creators Like 'Hawk Tuah Girl' Are Extending Their 15 Minutes of Fame

Think of Logan Paul's Prime drink, Mr. Beast's snack brand Feastables or Emma Chamberlain's Chamberlain Coffee, which experts say have become true industry disruptors. It's not a new phenomenon per se, but there are a few reasons why the trend shows no signs of slowing down, say three agency executives Digiday spoke to for this article.

“It’s a really, really big question facing the economy as a whole. [intellectual property] and who the IP owners are and who can get credit for it,” said Allison Yazdian, SVP of Creator Growth and Success at LTK, a digital marketing platform that enables creators and influencers to monetize their content through shoppable images. Her advice? Capitalize on it in any way you can.

Just last week, writer and actress Natasha Rothwell announced a TV adaptation of “Who TF Did I Marry?”, a viral TikTok series by Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson. Around the same time, Haliey Welch, better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” trademarked her slogan and announced she would be launching a podcast called “Talk Tuah.” In late August, Jools Lebron, the creator of the “very demure, very mindful” trend, trademarked the slogan. (Neither Johnson’s nor Lebron’s agencies responded in time for publication.)

Welch's journey from viral internet meme to media personality hasn't been easy — along with criticism of her rise to fame, there has also been misinformation about her background. In June, she was spotted in a man-on-the-street-style video giving a raunchy answer to a question about bedroom etiquette. Since then, she's amassed more than 4 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, guested at a recent concert alongside country star Zach Bryan, signed with management company The Penthouse and launched her own company, cheekily named 16 Minutes LLC in a nod to extending her 15 minutes of viral fame, Welch told Digiday in an email.

“Being called a creator sounds weird to me,” she said, noting that she wasn't active on social media before that viral moment. “When I decided it was time to get started, my team asked me a lot of questions about myself, what I like, what brands I use, and what my passions are.”

Welch, Lebron and Johnson join an ever-growing list of viral celebrities attempting to monetize their virality and become long-term media personalities. There are several variables.

Creators, particularly those from marginalized communities, have long raised alarm about brands using viral cultural moments in their marketing campaigns without crediting or paying the original creator, as creators become increasingly aware of the need to take control of their intellectual property.

This comes as influencers and creators work to break free from reliance on social media platforms, citing elusive algorithms and a lack of Creator Fund payouts as reasons for doing so.

“It's not an easy way to make money,” said Danielle Wiley, founder of influencer marketing firm Sway Group, referring to the aforementioned plight of a content creator. She added, “When people see something happening and there's an opportunity to jump on it and push themselves a little further, they want to use that to their advantage.”

In other words, it's not an easy job for content creators, so it's worth taking advantage of every opportunity to increase your follower count, exposure, and potential income and keep making money.

But according to Wiley and other agency executives, the creator economy isn't about making money. There's a difference between someone who “gets lucky with a viral moment and then tries to capitalize on that luck” and a content creator who's been working toward their big break, says Brad May, vice president of creative and strategy at Reach Agency, a creative agency specializing in influencer marketing. The former, he added, can lead to less authentic partnerships, brand deals and product launches, making it clear that it's a money-making scheme that consumers immediately see through.

Take Lebron's story, for example. Lebron was a beauty content creator before the “low-key” trend came along. But, May says, her story as a trans content creator also had an emotional component, as she earned enough from that viral moment to fund her gender transition. That story gives Lebron “a better chance of lasting long-term, as long as she doesn't lose the authenticity and emotion that defines her brand.”

Experts say 15 minutes of virality can be the deciding factor when it comes to talent and the ability to turn a fleeting cultural moment into something lasting. For a former beauty content creator like LeBron, the transition to media personality might make sense. Then again, sometimes 15 minutes of fame is just fame. Brands flock to capitalize on the cultural moment, the influencer scores a few deals and dollars, and everyone goes their separate ways.

“Once you get past that moment of virality, where is the depth?” asks Michael Calvin Jones, senior vice president of creators at Wasserman, a global sports marketing and talent management firm. “It's a crowded space today. You have to have depth in format, in content and in storytelling to have a sustained career in it.”

As for Welch, that's not yet certain. Her podcast, “Talk Tuah,” launched Tuesday, but she's still figuring out what this new career path as a media personality will look like, she said.

“Where this road will lead is anyone's guess,” she said in an email to Digiday. “But it feels good to buy Grandma a new vacuum cleaner and things like that, plus have the opportunity to give back to animals in need through my Paws Across America Fund. What more could a girl ask for?”