How Brands Cashed In on Love Island 🌴
The memes broke the internet—and helped marketers build serious brand affinity.
The biggest trend of the summer?
Amaya. Papaya.
IYKYK. And if you don’t, settle in, because today we’re talking about two of my great loves: reality TV and ridiculously good marketing.
In this issue:
Why meme-jacking is the hot new
bombshellmarketing strategyDid Poppi go too far with their viral post?
The best Love Island memes from brands
Tips for jumping in on the next big moment
The villa went viral, and so did the brands.
This summer, brands made Love Island USA their entire personality — and it worked.
The show exploded in popularity, quickly becoming the main character of the internet by racking up over 13 million social media mentions.
That’s 5x more than the NBA Finals.
It became the #2 most-watched streaming series (of all shows) and more than 1 million votes were cast in just 6 minutes.
And brands? They saw Season 7 for what it was: a meme goldmine.
The biggest meme of the season (and honestly, the whole summer) was Huda’s iconic “I’m a mommy” moment that took the US version of Love Island from niche reality show to pop culture phenomenon.
(Like, there’s 45 million views on just this one TikTok!)
And what happened next wasn’t just good TV: it was a masterclass in meme-jacking.
Cava kicked off the trend by turning the audio into a carousel post format that basically every brand jumped on:
But my fave part? Watching brands use that audio to make their products have conversations with each other—and rack up millions of well-deserved views while doing it. 😂
Sponges, syrup bottles, Birkins…suddenly everything had a personality and it was a good reminder that usually the most random moments create the biggest opportunities.
And while it’s too late to join that trend, you can still jump on the Amaya Papaya bandwagon by using her tachycardich audio like Penn Badgley did:
or her viral, oh-too-real song like Nicole Scherzinger:
Why Memes Actually Build Brand Love
If brand awareness is getting someone to know your name, brand affinity is getting them to actually like you.
And honestly? Few things build that faster than posting a perfectly timed meme.
Here’s why it works:
✅ It builds familiarity. The more people see your brand showing up in funny, relevant ways, the more they start to like you. It’s basic psychology.
✅ It humanizes your brand. Memes tap into shared emotions—like being told you’re “too much” by a guy you like or watching him give another girl more pancakes than you.
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Just look at Steve Madden: they posted a TikTok montage of Amaya’s best moments that had no product, no pitch, just pure papaya vibes.
It got 250K views (their average is ~5K) and the comments exploded with brand love and people feeling seen. Now that’s what brand affinity looks like.
Same energy with every brand that jumped on the “I’m a mommy” trend. They weren’t selling anything, they just earned real connection by showing up where their audience was already emotionally invested.
Stimulants help me focus—but they also make me crash out.
If I don’t take my Stasis, everyone around me can tell.
I ran out during my Europe trip and wow, I totally forgot just how bad those afternoon Vyvanse crashes can be. 😬 I was irritable, snappy, and not fun to be around (just like another Islander…and honestly, I felt for her).
Stasis is a supplement designed for people with ADHD to help manage the downsides of taking stimulants, like Adderall or Vyvanse. It seriously changed my life: no more crashing out every afternoon, just better focus, mood, and sleep.
And it’s on major sale right now: their anniversary promo gives you 20% off, but my code TAYLOR gets you 25% off—their biggest discount yet!
👉Start with the welcome kit:
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The Golden Meme Rule: Go for Engagement, Not Sales
Here's where brands mess up:
The point of meme-jacking isn't to move product. It's to move perception.
The brands that popped off during Love Island USA weren’t pushing links or dropping discount codes. They were just showing us they get it.
And that’s the whole point: memes should be used to build brand affinity, not drive sales (though hey, that’s a cute bonus).
Take Supergoop, for example. Their “I’m a mommy” post was cute and timely:
But the follow-up felt a little too try-hard:
When you go from being in on the joke to trying to monetize the joke, people can feel it and the vibes fall flat.
Bottom line: just focus on getting people to like you instead of trying to sell them something.
Unless you’re Craftmix, who turned a zoom call into a Love Island confessional booth to launch their newest product.
It was hilarious, self-aware, and racked up 2 million views across Instagram and TikTok. 10/10, no notes.
When Brands Go Too Far
Let's circle back to one of the internet’s favorite brands, Poppi.
After the infamous mailbox episode sent the Amaya Papaya hive into overdrive, Poppi moved fast by teasing an "Amaya Papaya" flavor.
It went ridiculously viral.
But honestly? It gave me the ick.
As a creator, it felt weird to watch a brand slap someone’s name on their actual product while they’re sequestered in Fiji with no internet access.
There’s a fine line, but a big difference, between jumping on a meme and co-opting someone’s identity for clout—especially without consent or compensation. 💸💸💸
Kayali did the same thing with AI-generated "Amaya Papaya" perfume post.
Both brands got a bit of backlash, but nothing too wild. Poppi has quietly deleted their post, but when Kayali was asked if Amaya was getting paid, they just replied "😍😍😍❤️"
To which I say: 😒😒😒💩
And it gets worse.
Buzzfeed’s Tasty posted a gross, racially charged DV “joke” about Chelley, and Lattafa Perfumes created a deepfake ad of Huda promoting their product using AI. It racked up 18M+ views and hopefully, a lawsuit soon.
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👉 The lesson here? Stick to engaging with lighthearted meme moments, and don’t turn real people into your unpaid mascots.
How to Meme Like a Pro
Want to jump in on the next big cultural moment? Here’s how to be cool, not cringe:
✅ Understand the assignment.
The best posts came from social media managers who actually watch the show. If you don’t get the reference, tag in someone who does.
✅ Engage, don’t sell.
Focus on connection, not conversion. Save the sales pitch for tomorrow.
✅ Move quick.
The best posts happen within 24 hours of the viral moment. Just look at JetBlue, whose Tiktok response racked up 7M views, 1M likes, and a comments section full of brands fighting for relevance.
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✅ Speak the language.
Phrases like “got a text!” or “bombshell” made branded posts feel like part of the discourse instead of an ad.
Betches nailed this by embracing the drama of a “surprise restructuring” (instead of “recoupling”) on Office Island.
Final Thoughts:
Love Island's daily drama gave the internet a new love language, and the brands that spoke it fluently? They proved that sometimes, the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing at all.
Posting memes isn't just a good time: it’s a strategic way to rack up engagement and make people actually like your brand online.
All that to say: yes, you should totally let your social media manager watch Love Island during work hours. It’s R&D. 😌
Your turn: have memes worked for your brand? Leave a comment with your wins, or just give me your Love Island thoughts! Both are equally valuable content to me 😅
P.S. Is this what finally gets millennials like me to download Snapchat again? 👀
i'll go first: I could NOT stop laughing at chris refusing to carry Huda over the water. can't believe that hasn't become a meme!!!
IHOP won this game with their offer of a pancake tutorial for islanders 🥞