Internet trends come and go but perhaps none has been bigger this year than the ferociously adorable phenomenon that is Moo Deng. For the uninitiated, Moo Deng is a baby pygmy hippo who lives at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in the Chonburi Province of Thailand. She was born on July 10, 2024, but she has already risen to be one of the most famous animals in the world thanks to her playfulness and ferocity. The subject of countless memes, Moo Deng is a perfect case study in the lifecycle of internet trends. This year, she quickly became a global superstar, but is the Moo Deng hype “over”? We used our social listening and analytics solution to find out.
How popular is Moo Deng in 2024?
From January 1 to November 11, 2024, there were nearly 6 million mentions of Moo Deng across all languages and channels, including social media, digital and broadcast news, blogs, and forums. That’s only 1 million fewer mentions than fellow breakout star Chappell Roan, an adult human being with a music career. Pretty impressive for a baby hippo who was just born this summer!
When did Moo Deng first go viral?
Meltwater data shows that Moo Deng generated her first significant spike in conversation on September 2. That day she got her first taste of virality thanks to a post on X that simply exclaimed, “MOO DENG” along with four pictures of the shiny, plump creature looking ready to bite.
This X post from @sighyam made Moo Deng go viral for the first time in September 2024.
However, it wasn’t until later that month that the then two-month-old began to reach mega virality.
Moo Deng mentions spiked even higher on September 10, when a photo of Moo Deng biting a leg went viral on X, kicking off a relatively steady rise. Just over half of all Moo Deng conversations so far this year occurred in September alone, when she averaged about 100,000 mentions each day.
What was the peak of Moo Deng’s fame?
The peak of Moo Deng-mania occurred on September 28, when her name was mentioned about 205,000 times. This was thanks to a Saturday Night Live skit in which comedian Bowen Wang portrayed Moo Deng complaining about the downsides of fame. The skit spiked the Moo Deng conversation to new heights as some praised it while others criticized it for potentially mocking Chappell Roan. That goes to show that, even for celebrities who are animals, controversy can generate the most buzz.
How long did the Moo Deng hype last?
Mentions began to slide in early October and hit their lowest point in several weeks at about 34,000 mentions on November 3, 2024. So while Moo Deng is still massively popular, the height of the craze around her has passed. Overall, the Moo Deng hype lasted for about a month, but the precocious hippo is still a star we will hear more about in the future.
How did brands tap into the Moo Deng trend?
Brands and organizations across the world hopped on the Moo Deng trend, but the ones that timed their posts well had the best chance of hitting it big.
This Instagram post from @thaisephora has gotten more than 11,000 likes since it was posted in September.
For example, Sephora Thailand published its Moo Deng Instagram post on September 11, just after the Moo Deng leg bite photo went viral. Its clever take on the trend garnered thousands of likes and likely kicked off the Moo Deng makeup microtrend that took off a few weeks later.
This post on X from @USDOL has been reposted about 9,400 times since September 20.
On September 20, the U.S. Department of Labor used a picture of Moo Deng getting sprayed with water to rack up tens of thousands of engagement actions on X and promote hydration at the same time.
This Instagram post from @spotandtango has received more than 20,000 likes since it was posted on September 28, 2024.
Finally, dog food brand Spot & Tango drove a surge of social engagement with its post on September 28, the day Moo Deng mentions spiked highest.
Takeaways for marketers
For marketers, even the most viral of viral trends have a lifespan when it comes to visibility and engagement. So while Moo Deng is still a relevant and popular pop culture figure, for most brands, the time for trendjacking has passed.
Monitoring and assessing waves of online trends and conversations is key for marketers looking to connect with new audiences online. At the end of the day, the success of trendjacking comes down to timing, along with a few other key factors. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Trendjacking to learn more about how to leverage trends and use social listening to ensure you never miss the next Moo Deng.
