Tracksuit reveals top pop culture moments of 2024

Raygun, Ozempic, and ‘Swelce’ were among the biggest brand and pop-culture moments of the year, according to a new report from brand tracking platform, Tracksuit.

Surveying over 21,000 consumers globally, Tracksuit’s Track Record has found that the Olympics was the biggest culture moment of 2024. 41% of the Aussie participants – 4,800 of the 21,000 – agreed.

The Paris Games offered unprecedented access to the Olympic Village, humanising athletes as they leant into creating their own content.

And with the likes of Raygun and Turkish sports-shooter Yusef Dikec causing a stir online, this year’s games became what Tracksuit describes as a “cultural zeitgeist” enabling big and small brands to capitalise through sponsorships, activations, and celebrity endorsements.

Source: Nine

Tracksuit’s report revealed inherent differences between generations, as while Gen Z’s was loving Charli XCX and the brat summer phenomenon, Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce – also known as ‘Swelce’ – resonated deeply with Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. Overall, a third of the country (34%) agreed. On the other end of the spectrum, only 17% of Gen Z ranked ‘Swelce’ as the biggest moment of the year.

Meanwhile, 15% of Aussie participants agreed, and 23% globally, that the rise of the controversial and widely spoken about drug, Ozempic, was another large brand moment. The pharmaceutical product – designed for people with diabetes – started to be used by people around the world as a weight loss drug – becoming a household name.

Cultural moments including the ‘which celebrity is on Ozempic’ guessing game and the ethical issues surrounding its use, it was difficult to escape the noise it created online.

“At Tracksuit, our chronically online bubble thought Charli XCX’s brat album was going to claim the top spot,” said Mikayla Hopkins, head of marketing at Tracksuit.

“Although brat summer performed fairly well among Gen Z’s (7%), it barely made a ripple amongst the general population, pulling in only 2% of votes.

“These results spotlight how living in a digital world impacts the content we are delivered and consume,” she continued. “Social media algorithms have created echo chambers that make it difficult to reach mass audiences, but easier than ever to reach highly engaged communities.

“For brands, this has made capitalising on relevant pop-culture moments more important than ever, as these echo chambers can be used to build communities of brand advocates who are passionate and feel personal connections to specific businesses and products.”

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