FortniteThe annual Halloween event is just around the corner and this time Epic Games cooperates with notable gamer and Twitch streamer Doja Cat to achieve this. To promote the celebration, Fortnite X’s account gave everyone the impression that it was temporarily written by Doja Cat herself. Except Doja Cat Fortnitementions, calling the posts cringeworthy and embarrassing. What?
Early Wednesday morning FortniteDoja Cat posted a selfie on her social media account claimed to have taken over the account. More posts it sounded like her. There is a Caps Lock post about the Chain of Hades weapon, what many people believe Epic Games got rid of him specifically because the rapper complained about it during a live broadcast. At times, this term sounds more human than brand-related, especially in the case of brief posts that do not directly promote anything. Even the self-deprecating humor felt like a Doja Cat post.
“One of mine Fortnite “skins is baldness and people will have to get used to it” reads one post.
But then you get to the post where Fortnite says: “Mother of rose toys.” Like an adult toy. Oddly sexual for an account belonging to a children’s game, right? At first glance, this may lend credence to the idea that the posts actually come from Doja Cat, a known provocateur, and not a brand safety concern. Except for Doja Cat, who seems as surprised by the posts as everyone else.
This would suggest that the posts are not written directly by Doja Cat and are instead based on matters discussed with the person in control Fortnite Account X. Now skeptical people may look at this with a raised eyebrow. Surely this is just marketing and Doja Cat is engaging in a stunt that will surely get people talking? Reliable. But consider two things. On X, someone accused Doja Cat of lying about the whole situation. She replied sarcastically, “Me when I wish someone would tweet something like that to a bunch of kids.” The Fortnite the account also deleted the original post.
On the other hand, Fortnite there is still a post on the account that is just a long string of rose emojis. But it also doesn’t directly refer to anything sexual, and innocent children may not immediately associate its meaning. The leaks also say that it will be part of an in-game promotion introduce a weapon called the Thorn Ripperwhich matches the rose theme.
But that doesn’t explain the post about toys. There’s a lot to consider here, including the fact that Doja Cat herself is a known troll. It has a history of veering left when brand offers require it to veer right.
In one infamous instance, the singer teamed up Taco Bell will make Mexican pizza. Before sharing the song itself, she warned viewers in a now-deleted post that it was conventional and she wasn’t particularly proud of what she came up with. But now the only evidence that this is happening is the jingle itself, where she claims she just missed speedy food so much she suddenly decided to record a song about it. However, note the slim introduction.
Years later, Doja continued to work with Taco Bell, at one point even appearing in their Super Bowl commercial. As part of the rollout, she made a commercial that tried to do just that invent a drama between her and Taco Bell, which, by the way, also involved Lebron James. It’s not as compelling as Fortnite jingles or deleted posts. But the tactics seem similar.
So… is any of this true? If it’s a gimmick, it’s a bold one. I don’t know if parents would be ecstatic to know that there is a popular video game available that promotes sex toys, even in jest. Plausible deniability applies to emoji posts, but not to the deleted word post toy. I’m also not convinced that any brand would like to be associated with the word “cringe”, which is the worst thing Gen Z could describe it.
Either way, Doja Cat wins. This will prove that she can sell your product in a way that feels organic, even if she doesn’t like it – or it’s all staged.
