Why Are People Lining Up for Labubus? An Expert Breaks Down the Pop Culture Craze

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• Sara Bock- [email protected]

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While it may seem like a spontaneous trend, Labubu's rise was anything but accidental. Social media algorithms, influencer partnerships and scarcity-driven marketing have all played a role in turning these quirky toys into must-have items.

To unpack how collectible fads like this catch fire, we spoke with Caroline Jack, an associate professor in the School of Social Sciences' Department of Communication and author of the book "Business as Usual: How Sponsored Media Sold American Capitalism in the Twentieth Century." Drawing on her expertise in advertising history and promotional culture, she breaks down the strategies that fuel the Labubu phenomenon:

Why do certain toy fads or collectibles suddenly go viral? What makes a collectible toy/fashion accessory like Labubu explode in popularity in the first place?

Journalists have widely credited K-pop star Lisa of BLACKPINK with kicking off the Labubu trend in mid-April of 2024, when an informal photo of her happily cuddling a freshly unboxed Labubu appeared on her Instagram story. Additionally, retail industry commentators have attributed Pop Mart's recent surge in TikTok Shop sales to partnerships with creators who promote and sell Pop Mart products - including Labubus - in their own posts and livestreams.

Although social media influencers are relatively new, media and communication scholars have long explored the interplay of media and influence. For example, communication scholars Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld's 1955 book "Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications" studied the influence of mass media, such as radio and newspapers, on ordinary people. They found that for many people, the influence of mass media came to them indirectly, through well-informed friends. Katz and Lazarsfeld called these ordinary people who kept up with current events "opinion leaders," since they were trusted sources of information for their friends and families. The researchers called this model of influence a "two-step flow": media exposure had a direct influence upon opinion leaders, who in turn influenced the views of others in their communities.

Globally beloved celebrities like Lisa - who has 106 million followers on Instagram - and high-profile influencers play a role today that is somewhat like that of Katz and Lazarsfeld's opinion leaders. While most of us don't know celebrities or influencers personally, fans often develop "parasocial relationships" with media figures, in which we may come to feelalmost as if we know them - and look to them as trusted sources of inspiration and influence. The interactivity of Instagram, TikTok and other social media allows celebrities and influencers to cultivate the appearance of direct, authentic connection with followers, blurring the line between parasocial connection and personal influence.

How do marketing and promotional strategies turn a toy like Labubu into both a hot fashion accessory and a global pop culture phenomenon?

What looks like overnight viral success can be the result of strategic promotional planning. Consider the Stanley Cup: In the early 2020s it seemed like Stanley's colorful insulated mugs were suddenly everywhere. But journalistic coverage of the trend showed that Stanley was a "heritage" brand, founded more than a century ago, and its seeming overnight success came after years of strategic partnerships with bloggers. The company's leadership also showed a willingness to capitalize on "earned" (that is, unpaid and unaffiliated with the company) social media posts, especially fan-created viral posts that praised the product's durability.

However, strategic marketing and promotional communication can only go so far if a company doesn't have good products to back it up. Plenty of low-quality products or outright fraudulent ventures have initially soared on the strength of their promotional messaging, only to crash under the weight of consumer complaints and charges of deception.

How has social media changed the way collectible fads emerge and spread, compared to earlier crazes like Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Kids?

A useful concept from marketing scholarship is the idea of a "brand community," which is a group of people who make social connections with one another based on their shared admiration for a brand. These kinds of social connections existed before social media, but the searchability and international reach of social media networks allows fans of a product or brand to find and interact with one another at a global scale. For example, you can easily find Labubu collectors online chatting about the joy of collecting or posting photos of their Labubus dressed up in custom-made outfits.

Beyond these fan communities, social media provides incentives for people who make their living online to get involved in trends. Depending on your own browsing habits, you may encounter influencers showing off their Labubus, criticizing the character's ugly-cute aesthetic, or raising concerns about conspicuous consumption and the environmental implications of packaging waste and plastic collectibles. For influencers and other social media creators who have enough of a following to qualify for platforms' revenue-sharing programs, followers' views, likes, and shares are valuable sources of revenue. Posting about a recent trend can be a strategy to keep their followers engaging with them, whether they choose to celebrate or criticize the trend.

How do blind box releases and viral unboxing videos drive the hype for collectibles like Labubu?

Blind box releases, in which the purchaser doesn't know which variant they've purchased until they open the box, create additional excitement around a purchase because they introduce an element of chance. This makes unboxing into an important part of the consumer experience. Social media gives both fans and influencers alike a means to share that unboxing experience with others, whether that's for the sake of building community, racking up monetizable engagement with followers, or some mixture of these.

Why is scarcity - limited editions, timed drops and hard-to-find items - so effective at feeding excitement around these global collectibles?

The sales pitch of "act now, supplies are limited" is very old indeed and can be quite effective! It's a pitch that asks its target to make a quick decision, and perhaps to take a leap of faith.

T.J. Jackson Lears, a historian of advertising, has argued that U.S. consumer culture is rooted in older, carnivalesque traditions of the 19th century, such as the sales pitches of traveling salesmen and the transformative promises of religious revival movements. The theatricality and emotional charge of promotional culture, Lears argues, creates a space where people can express their desires for excitement and change, while navigating the very real dangers of being tricked or losing their money. From this perspective, blind-box collectibles with rare variants could offer collectors a small, controlled dose of these turbulent forces.

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