SNL shouts out TikTok Shop.

A Social Commerce Newsletter

Author

Nicole Rechtszaid
October 23, 2024

If you missed the most recent Saturday Night Live, watch a YouTube re-run clip here.

Saturday Night Live is known for creating hilarious, relatable parodies of shows, public figures, and oddball characters. While it’s no stranger for these kinds of shows to embrace TikTok (see Jimmy Fallon’s regular TikTok guests), Saturday Night Live was the first to capture and distribute this content successfully.

Instead of awkwardly showing cast members learning TikTok dances or dropping Gen Alpha slang, they made a nearly four-minute-long segment showcasing the viewer's perspective scrolling mindlessly in-app. Brilliant.

The cast members played popular TikTok characters, such as food critic Keith Lee. The parody videos were also posted as individual clips to the @nbcsnl TikTok account, garnering several millions of views each. This clip spoofing TikToker Harry Daniel singing to Kamala Harris reached 14.7 million views.

TikTok Shop received a callout at the segment's start with a video showing a cast member on a vibration plate saying: “Guys, TikTok Shop 30% off. My cortisol has dropped.” I was impressed by how accurately this was displayed, down to even having a product linked to the video. See below

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While some people are obsessed with this format, others found it to be a bit cringey and derivative. The comments shared mixed opinions, but the engagement and viewership pointed to success. While TV viewership has dropped, SNL has tapped into a younger audience by finding ways to be in on the joke.

Despite all of this incredible success, I find it disappointing that the original creators that are being playfully mocked aren’t credited. Though SNL is known for parodies of public figures, these influencers had an opportunity to be featured and credited for their own work.

I’m glad that viewers in the comments mentioned the names and handles of the original creators, but I hope that SNL can learn from this to tag or collaborate with digital creators. A collaboration at this level could further the episode’s promotion if done effectively.

What do you think? Was it funny or cringe? Let me know in my LinkedIn comments.

News 📰

Ready for this week’s social commerce and media news? Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or a shot, and dive in.

TikTok Shop 💫 

  • TikTok Shop faces backlash after black market Ozempic, Juvederm, and other assorted injectables (Media Matters)

  • K-beauty kits are thriving on TikTok Shop (WWD)

Google Shopping 🛒

  • Google Shopping is introducing a For You feed fueled by recent product searches and YouTube history (The Verge)

Twitch 👾

  • Amazon Ads Executive Viral Thacker is joining Twitch to help lay the groundwork for ad sales on Twitch (The Information)

Amazon Live 🌐

  • Amazon Live streamed the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, allowing viewers to click and buy in real time on Amazon (Amazon Live)

YouTube 🎧

  • YouTube Premium may release a “Lite” version in some regions with limited ads (Yahoo)

Social Commerce and Creator Economy Jobs

The job market is tough. Here are jobs I’ve seen pop up that seem interesting:

If you like this section, I’ll keep it going next week and break it down by city, experience level, and salary. <3

About Me

Hi, I’m Nicole! I’m a Gen Z social commerce entrepreneur and TikTok creator. I’m the Co-Founder of Ghost Agency, a social commerce company that supports brands and influencers with content and livestreams. Ghost Agency is one of the first TikTok Shop Partner agencies and we’ve been mentioned in The Information and Business Insider.

Thanks for reading my newsletter. If you’d like to connect with me, you may do so via email or LinkedIn. Feel free to reach out if you have any requested topics, general inquiries, or Ghost Agency questions.