Happy Spotify Wrapped day to all who celebrate! I’m howling laughing at my own. My most-played song’s from a anonymous & masked metalcore band called President, followed by, wait for it: that amazing Fleetwood Mac-ish track at the end of Nobody Wants This, Season 2. If you’re an overgrown emo kid like me, swing by my personal Instagram—gonna break down my personal listening + songs of the year later today.

But let’s talk about

• A free talk I’m giving on social media best practices

• A moving truck company going viral on TikTok

• The value of tying your brand to customer’s emotional moments

—Jack Appleby

I’m giving a FREE digital talk with a bunch of other smart social + advertising folks!

Pretty geeked about this one. I’m speaking at Motion’s 2026 Creative Trends event this month alongside some folks I genuinely look up to, and it’s totally free to watch.

I’m sharing this idea I’ve been working on: The Only 2 Social Best Practices. I really do think if you just get these two things right, your content can sing. But I’m sticking around to see what Oren & Dara & Elfried & everyone else is sharing, too—you’re gonna hear talks on short-form trends, how community affects content performance, paid creative strategies for the new year, and a whole lot more!

RSVP right over here—we’re doing some Q&A, too, so you can ask me all your 2026 social questions as well!

U-Haul's viral TikTok earned 7 million views by talking about break-ups

I remember renting the U-Haul after a break-up. Especially humbling: my new apartment was literally two blocks from our place. A box truck was better than me carrying a mattress down Hollywood Boulevard, but I felt pretty silly on top of all the other ending-of-relationship feels.

Clearly that’s a common story, since U-Haul just turned that emotion into a TikTok with 7 million views and counting. It’s one of my favorite pieces of content of the year thanks to its simplicity, sound strategy, and understanding of how people perceive their business.

The Content: “I wanna break up”

The TikTok opens with a movie title card “I wanna break up” before bringing in an opening lens of a U-Haul truck as the audio continues. Actually, here, just give it a watch.

@uhaullife

At the end of the day, we will still be here for you #UHaul #IWannaBreakup #Truck

It’s too real, man. And even if you don’t know a thing about TikTok, you understand it. But it went viral because it ties a universal emotional hook to a very real use-case for the brand in conjunction with some TikTok lore & platform nativity. Let’s break those down.

U-Haul nailed their emotional value proposition

Most social brands fall into one of two traps. They either:

• Talk about the their brand’s features and benefits without a human touch, or

• Make social media content that has nothing to do with their brand / product

But U-Haul tapped into an emotion & a moment. They’re not telling you which size truck to rent for your break-up—they’re telling you they’re here for you during the break-up. They’re relating to something every person will feel, and making themselves the brand that understands. People aren’t renting a truck—they’re leaving a past life, or starting a new life.

Hitting the feels is how you make a piece of content that people don’t just like, but remember.

U-Haul tied their brand perfectly to a TikTok trend

That’s not a random break-up recording on U-Haul’s TikTok. In fact, quite a few scrollers have heard it before—it’s been used 13,000 times over the last few years, though only started going viral the last few months.

The first use looked a lot like U-Haul’s take, actually—the same voicemail, same white text on black backgrounds, just with a sports car instead of a moving truck. That’s been parodied now for every type of vehicle you can imagine, including hamsters and unicorns (click the pic below for some good laughs).

Interestingly enough, U-Haul isn’t the first brand to go viral with the sound.

Mobile game Clash Royale did a cool 25 million views with their own take:

@clashroyale

Lock. in.

What your brand can learn

There’s a reason I wrote about emotional connection before mentioning it’s technically trend content—I don’t think many knew it was a trend. I didn’t! And that’s the funny thing about great trends—it’s not really about how everyone else is doing it, and more about the human truth the trend reveals.

So why’d U-Haul go viral? Simple math.

Relatable moment + brand value + platform nativity.

I push most brands to focus on the first two (chasing trends is often a fool’s errand), but man, when you can get all three? Your social can sing.

But let’s get into a few more important notes here:

• Your product is not the story. The moment is the story.

• Be honest about the feeling your brand provides.

• Don’t look for trends. Make trend content when the right one falls in your lap.

• The simple idea is usually the right idea.

• Good ideas > production value.

Just a really great piece of content.