Fleetwood’s Big Break

After 52 years of playing at karaoke bars and small town festivals, a band called Fleetwood Mac finally got its big break. Just kidding. But if you haven’t heard about their recent resurrection, it’s truly a fantastic story. Nathan Apodaca, a potato farmer from Idaho, posted a TikTok video featuring Mac’s 1977 hit “Dreams” while drinking a bottle of cranberry juice. As of today, the video has amassed more than 41 million views. Ocean Spray quickly jumped on the opportunity, awarding the internet sensation with a new truck and literally, a truckload of cranberry juice. “Dreams” now has over 500 million plays on Spotify. And as of last week, the song’s album, Rumours, jumped to the Billboard 200 Top 10, 43 years after its debut. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up.

Side note- does everyone remember when “FourFiveSeconds” by Kanye West, Rihanna and Paul McCartney was released in 2015? Fans praised Kanye West for discovering and promoting an older, unknown artist. Yes. They were talking about Sir James Paul McCartney. Such a shame his little garage band from Liverpool never took off.

Another crazy thought. “Dreams” wasn’t even the hit song from Rumours in ’77.  “Go Your Own Way”? “Don’t Stop”? Those were the big takeaways. But now, four decades later, because of a well timed lip-sync on an Idaho freeway, what was once an easily skipped track on the album is now the most listened to song of 2020. Goes to show, the reach of social media is only growing wider- and apparently deeper. Think about this. Through the power of a social media platform, an individual with zero sponsorship, no marketing budget and no real agenda was able to pull out archived music and make it cool again? A music history revision and everyone is suddenly drinking cranberry juice? Amazing.

I’m not naive enough to think there is a uniform approach here. Longboards and cranberry juice won’t work for everyone. And if I had to guess, a Paul McCartney cameo is tough to come by. But how will your brand “click” with your audience? What can your business offer on the social platforms? Don’t get stuck on going viral. While it would be totally cool, that’s not the end goal. Your brand should work to establish a meaningful presence on the social platforms. One that engages through consistent quality content that focuses on the consumer. If you happen to revive some ’70s rock in the process, bonus points.