The year of Brat? Surprise Tracksuit stats show biggest pop culture and brand moments of 2024

Branding and pop culture are more intertwined than ever, as cultural trends increasingly shape how brands engage with customers on social media.

Looking back on the last year, there have been some major moments — Brat Summer, the recent Wicked movie phenomenon, everything to do with Taylor Swift ... and the list goes on.

So can you guess what the top branding and pop culture moments of 2024 are?

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Tracksuit, a brand tracking platform, has the answers, and has released its annual wrap of the biggest moments after surveying over 21,000 consumers globally.

In terms of pop culture, it’s hard to beat the noise Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce created this year, and Tracksuit’s statistics confirmed as much.

To the surprise of Charli XCX Brat album lovers, Swift and Kelce’s love story was hands down the biggest moment of the year — recognised by over a third of Australian voters.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at this year’s Super Bowl. Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The relationship maintained its stamina in the pop culture news cycle throughout the year thanks to The Eras Tour and Kelce’s NFL team Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl.

Coming in second was the Kendrick versus Drake beef after both rappers continue to level life-changing accusations against each other in a flurry of diss tracks.

The feud became so closely followed and confusing that a Wikipedia page was created to explain it.

Worldwide, the Oasis reunion snapped the third spot, proving nostalgia is the gift that keeps on giving.

When the British brothers announced they were returning to tour Australia in 2025, the overwhelming demand led to rapid sellouts (tickets for the Australian leg were snapped up in just 90 minutes), and issues with ticket resales after thousands of tickets appeared on secondary market platforms at inflated prices.

Meanwhile, for branding moments, the No.1 spot may come as a surprise.

There was a frenzy worldwide this year to secure Oasis tickets. Credit: AAP

Olympics takes home the gold

The Olympics came in first worldwide after delivering many viral moments including Australian athlete Raygun, behind-the-scenes moments from the Olympic Village and viral Turkish sport shooter Yusuf Dikec.

The No.2 spot was held by Ozempic, a once-a-week injectable prescription medicine for weight loss, designed to be used alongside diet and exercise, to improve blood sugar levels and manage the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

With the ongoing guessing game of “which celebrity is on Ozempic” and the ethical issues surrounding its use, it was difficult to escape the noise it created. And the world seemed to agree, with Ozempic securing second place globally.

In terms of big surprises, it may come as a surprise to some that the phenomenon of Brat came in at just 2 per cent of votes.

Raygun became an instant global phenomenon following her performance in Paris. Credit: Getty

The result even surprised Tracksuit’s head of marketing, Mikayla Hopkins.

“At Tracksuit, our chronically online bubble thought Charli XCX’s Brat album was going to claim the top spot,” she said.

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

“These results spotlight how living in a digital world impacts the content we are delivered and consume.

“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.”

Global pop culture moments of 2024:

1. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce — 43 per cent
2. Kendrick vs Drake beef — 10 per cent
3. Oasis Reunion — 6 per cent
4. Very demure, very mindful — 6 per cent
5. The Euros — 4 per cent
6. The Simone Biles effect — 3 per cent
7. Willy Wonka Experience fail — 2 per cent
8. Moo Deng — 2 per cent
9. Chappell Roan’s rapid rise — 2 per cent
10. Brat Summer — 2 per cent

Charli XCX’s Brat album sparked a ‘Brat Summer’ movement. Credit: Getty

Global brand moment rankings

1. The Olympics — 37 per cent
2. Ozempic — 23 per cent
3. The rise of Temu — 8 per cent
4. Stanley Cup craze — 6 per cent
5. Victoria’s Secret fashion show return — 4 per cent
6. Charli XCX’s Brat album release —2 per cent
7. Nike’s fall from grace —2 per cent
8. Liquid Death x E.L.F Cosmetics — 1 per cent
9. Airbnb x Polly Pocket campaign — 1 per cent
10. Rhode and Hailey Bieber lipstick case — 1 per cent