If you know, you know. You know?

Michael Scott once said “I love inside jokes, I’d love to be a part of one someday”,and as the world of culture-first marketing evolves, for brands, this has become the Holy Grail. Not trying to ‘own’ conversations (yuck), but instead, credibly join them, creating work that’s brave enough to know that those who know, will know.  

Take Currys’ social team running that air fryer skit riffing on the American Psycho business card scene. I loved it, partly because I love the film, partly because I knew exactly who I could send it to. If you know, tell me you didn’t hear “look at that subtle off-white colouring” in your head. That’s the magic of it. By simply recognising the reference - and maybe feeling like it’s a bit niche - you’re suddenly in on something.

Itsu are also riding the IYKYK social trend incredibly well, from succulent chinese meals to Ronnie Pickering and the Wealdstone Raider reprising jokes. It's a very specific corner of the internet, but if you’re in it, you’re in it. For what it’s worth, I’ve long maintained King Curtis deserves a brand deal somewhere in the chicken or bacon category.

What makes it work is how personal it feels. Like the campaign wasn’t made for everyone, it was made for you and your circle. It taps into shared jokes, moments, cultural footnotes. An extra layer of storytelling that shifts something from mass to meaningful. Even when it’s not that niche, it feels like it is. 

And it isn’t reserved purely for content. 

Last year, when the Oasis reunion news hit, we were working on launching our ‘Lidl by Lidl’ campaign. There was plenty of storytelling baked into the product itself - the beer-proof performance polyester, cooling pockets for gig roadies, the name - but the IYKYK layer was the bit that got under the skin of the diehard Oasis fans. 

It was a mural right outside the band's beloved Etihad stadium, in the exact spot Stone Island had used to announce Liam Gallagher as its ambassador - we had our own badge to get in, after all. We even worked with the same artist. It pulled together multiple strands of Gallagher lore and fan chat into one clean, knowing moment, without a single celeb needed. 

Which begs the question, is it better to appeal broadly to the masses, or to become social currency to a niche group? My argument, especially when joining a cultural conversation, is to bake a bit of the latter into the craft where you can, and those that know will do the talking for you.

A final note for anyone signing off this kind of work: if you don’t know, that doesn’t make it wrong. Trust someone that does. And please, someone give my guy King Curtis his break.

Jordan Kavanagh, Creative Director.