Posted on 5th May 2023
A fun new meme is taking off on TikTok where people appear to be playing scenes from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax on any device with a screen – ranging from TVs and phones to games consoles, calculators and even pregnancy tests – with a caption saying "If it has a screen, The Lorax will be seen".
Take a look at this box of examples on Buzz from Shooglebox:
The trend is believed to have started with a TikTok posted on April 28 by @acergur who was simultaneously playing a distorted version of the film's Let It Grow scene on six different devices. Let It Grow is the final song in the film, where the character Ted Wiggins, voiced by Zac Efron, and the people of Thneedville stand up to the mayor Aloysius O'Hare and plant a tree in the town.
Other people have since started sharing their own versions, using the same sound. Some of the videos, especially those playing the scene on really unconventional devices, are getting a huge response – like @user20776880 racking up more than 5 million views and 1.2 million likes by appearing to play The Lorax on a Braun digital thermometer.
A version from ASCII artist account Typed Artworks, creating a text art picture of a scene from the film with just the characters on their laptop keyboard, has picked up more than 2 million views. Commenters are impressed, saying it's "insane", "bro won the trend" and "this deserves more likes".
Other big videos include @user99897656542 and @hexmari playing the film on calculators, with 2.8 million and 2.5 million views respectively; @mycemie playing the film on 12 different devices all at the same time, which they say "took way too long" to get right (1.4 million views); and @aireyverse proving The Lorax really can be seen on anything with a screen by playing it on a Clearblue pregnancy test (1.1 million views).
This account has tried a different version playing it on the openings of a wall-mounted air conditioning unit with the caption saying "Just cause there's no screen doesn't mean The Lorax can't be seen". People in the comments are having fun coming up with alternative captions, like "If it exists, The Lorax will not resist", "If it's invented The Lorax must be presented" and "If it has a surface The Lorax is its purpose".
A couple of brands have been quick to pick up on the trend and film versions of it – including Toys"R"Us Canada with their mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe appearing to watch the film after scanning a barcode. Commenters on Toys"R"Us' video say they're pleased to see "a company understanding and properly using a trend".
Louisiana State University have made a video too, showing the film playing on a big screen in a sports stadium; as have the Drumstick ice cream brand appearing to project their "Drumstick cat" onto a thermostat screen.
Spotting TikTok trends
"The Lorax will be seen" trend is just one of the new trends quickly picked up and tracked by our Buzz service, which highlights some of the big talking points emerging on TikTok and social media every day.
Buzz from Shooglebox is used by journalists, creators and brand teams who need to spot and stay on top of the latest trends.
It includes a constantly updated box of cards showing at a glance and linking to viral videos, TikTok trends and other things going big on social media. Buzz customers also get regular updates alerting them to some of the things they might otherwise miss or discover late.
This stack of cards for "The Lorax will be seen" trend gives you an idea of how Shooglebox works – and how it could help you go from spotting a trend right at the start to tracking its development over time.
If you're interested in signing up or finding out more about Buzz get in touch here.
