City of Boise's video of the “scariest costume ever,” a fatberg, is wowing the internet

A “spooky” Halloween costume has made the city of Boise the talk of the town and the internet.

Elizabeth Kidd, the city's social media manager, had been trying to find a way to create content for TikTok for years, but it only clicked earlier this summer when she noticed a lot of people talking about Boise, a lot of videos being posted in Boise turned and lots of people from Boise on the platform.

“We should be there and make sure that our message and our value is part of the conversation about Boise that's happening on TikTok,” Kidd told USA TODAY on Friday.

She struck gold with the city's first TikTok: a skit in which she frightens city leaders by dressing up as a “fatberg,” a collection of oil and grease that, when poured down the drain, washes down with others Waste solidifies the toilet. The video features the city's mayor and some notable appearances.

“The way we did the specific video is something I've been thinking about for a while: 'How can we as a local government break through on social media?'” Kidd explained. “Because I'm trying.” Talk about the water renewal system while I compete with Moo Deng.”

More about the City of Boise's successful video

The video, which shows Kidd dressed as a fatberg to get everyone in the office in the Halloween spirit, has thrilled many who saw it online since its release on Tuesday. The video was also reposted on another social media platform the next day, garnering over 2 million views on X alone.

“It's officially October and to get everyone at City Hall in the Halloween spirit, I put together the scariest costume I can imagine,” Kidd says in the video. “And I'm going to try to prank some of my colleagues.”

The response to the video was so overwhelmingly positive that Kidd couldn't help but be “very excited” about it.

“As someone who constantly creates content, I've learned to never expect anything to be great because we're all at the mercy of an algorithm,” Kidd said. “I was really proud of the work we did on this video.”

Watch: Fatberg “haunts” Boise city office

Entertaining people and informing them at the same time

Kidd and her team, Taylor Nash and Abby Haydin, wanted to ensure that the content created for TikTok disseminated the “really important information” they needed in an engaging and entertaining way that served the people of Boise.

Kidd had been toying around with the idea of ​​creating “mockumentary-style” content because “it's a good way” to get a lot of information out there and create something very fun.

A few weeks ago, she and her team had the idea to do something with fatbergs that were “wreaking havoc” on the water renewal system, Kidd says in the video.

The video's message is to remind City of Boise residents and viewers to avoid flushing wipes of any kind, even those labeled “flushable,” down the toilet, lest a fatberg disrupt the water renewal system. devastated.”

The goal is to get people “excited to be a part of our city.”

Kidd received a “good response” from many people in the office before releasing the video to the public

Kidd shared it on her personal TikTok and in an Instagram Story, but she and her team “didn’t really promote” the video or the City of Boise’s post on TikTok.

Kidd says it was fun to see how the video was received and the “overwhelmingly positive” response they received.

Many viewers compared the video to NBC's hit office sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” with one user commenting, “We need more episodes.”

One user said, “Elizabeth you are a star,” while another wrote, “Love you City of Boise TikTok account.”

Kidd just hopes that people “think twice before flushing wipes again” and that the next time they fill out a city of Boise survey, they “remember that they like following us on TikTok.”

The story has been updated to add a photo.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: City of Boise's 'scary' fatberg costume video is wowing the internet