Internet personalities Logan Paul and KSI released a hydration drink called Prime in 2022. Prime was the most successful launch for a hydration drink in history and became a direct competitor to Gatorade. Prime received complaints for claiming to be healthy, but it’s actually not good for you due to all the artificial sweeteners.
“It doesn’t taste very good. It tastes like acid, and if you drink it you’ll probably develop liver cancer or something,” said senior Julian Feger.
Despite people’s complaints, Prime is still selling well and is successful for KSI and Paul.
Around the same time Prime was released, famous YouTuber Mr. Beast released his own chocolate brand called Feastables. The chocolate bar was advertised as a healthier version of Hershey’s with only four ingredients.
“I never ate it because the advertising made me very suspicious,” said Feger.
Feastables was successful but Mr. Beast was unhappy with the product so he revamped his brand. The new Feastables bar had a new recipe and was advertised to be “the world’s best chocolate bar.” The new chocolate bar was less healthy than the original but sold more units.
Paul, KSI, and Mr. Beast’s brands were all successful, leading them to collaborate to create a new product. In September, the three YouTubers announced Lunchly on social media. Lunchly is meant to be a healthier version of Lunchables. The three flavors Lunchly has are fiesta nachos, turkey stack ‘ems and the pizza. These flavors are exact copies of some of the most popular Lunchables. Each Lunchly comes with one bottle of Prime and a Feastable chocolate bar. Paul, KSI, and Mr. Beast received a lot of backlash for Lunchly because they were using their brand to advertise unhealthy products to kids.
In one of the promo videos for Lunchly, Paul stated “I like my cheese drippy bruh,” which made many fans disgusted by the texture of the cheese.
“I remember seeing some of the advertising, and they are putting themselves at risk for Lunchly advertising. Logan Paul’s wife was giving birth, and he was still advertising Lunchly,” said Feger.
In the height of the controversy, KSI released a new song titled “Thick of It.” KSI thought his song was his best piece, but the song was trashed upon release. Many people claimed the song sounded like something that would play on the Disney channel. Much of the hate for the song was because fans were already mad at KSI for Lunchly and his song just added to the hate. Even though there is a lot of hate for the song, some fans are enjoying it ironically.
“It was made in God’s image. He looked upon this Earth and granted us this masterful masterpiece called ‘Thick of It’ by KSI,” said Feger.
A viral video was released in June that featured a street interviewer talking to Hailey Welch.
In one of the questions, Welch responded with a funny response that took the internet by storm and became one of the most viral videos in the last decade. Welch became famous and started a brand based on her response. The video became so popular that there are costumes of Welch at Spirit Halloween. Welch decided to capitalize on the fame by starting a podcast.
“A part of me is angry that a woman can just say two words and then be famous and not work a day for the rest of her life, but the other part of me is just respect,” said Feger.
Many feel like Welch’s fame is undeserved and the podcast solidified their opinions. Her podcast feels like a desperate attempt to become viral again by constantly saying vulgar phrases in hope they would catch on.
Lunchly, KSI’s “Thick of It” and Welch’s podcast all released within a short timeframe, creating a new viral meme. The meme consists of people eating Lunchly, drinking Prime and watching Welch’s podcast while listening to “Thick of It.” The meme became so popular that Mr. Beast himself made a video of renting a theater so a room full of people can eat Lunchly, drink prime and watch Welch’s podcast while listening to “Thick of It.”
All of these celebrities have received a lot of backlash for their actions, but due to the memes, they are receiving much more publicity than they would have before. Fans should state their criticism without turning it into a joke so the celebrities can learn from their mistakes.