The 2025 Video Music Awards are made to be wild. The show organizers themselves try to plan chaos for the cameras before they start rolling. But the celebrities know what time it is, and Doja Cat was in on it with Mac Cosmetics this year.
All part of the plan, Doja Cat arrived on the red carpet and strolled through like she owned the place before showing off her Mac Cosmetics lipstick. As cameras snapped a million shots per second and influencers leaned forward to see what was going to happen next, the movement was so mystifying, they just knew something had to be coming. And then, that moment arrived. She bit it.
It wasn’t a nice bite, either, like a sweet, shy bite to get some sexual attention. It was a crunch like she was devouring a Kit Kat. Gasps could be heard in the audience. There was definitely laughter. But confusion was pretty much planted on a lot of photojournalists’ faces. Still taking shots, they wondered how awful such a stunt tasted. Why would Doja Cat do that? The shock. The likes. The viral videos. And all of that did happen.
In fact, #DojaLipstick became a trending hashtag within an hour. The video was flying around social media faster than a rumor about the infidelity of Hollywood’s favorite couple. But the truth was yet to come out. It wasn’t lipstick. It was chocolate, totally edible. Beauty brands spend millions on making glossy commercials and even more on getting the airtime on the channels where their customers can be found. Doja Cat made an advertisement for lipstick go viral in half a second, and it costs nothing for all the fans to push the video around on all their faceyspaces and twittergrams.
This is a good lesson for all the people out there selling things or just trying to get attention for themselves. Shock factor is one way to get people to pay attention and to show it to their friends. Sheer absurdity will guarantee replay after replay. Disruption takes being bold, but that’s one way to get attention and let everyone know you’re very much in the game. Memes are absolute marketing gold, and that’s not your energy that you have to use. People who love sharing viral videos and memes will do it on their own without any more work from you. If it’s one thing we’ve learned from Bella Poarch, when her “M to the B” TikTok video exploded.
This is why brands love celebrities. At the very least, a Kardashian or Sydney Sweeney can put on a pair of jeans, and the world will go crazy. Fans will share photos because they love their heroes. Haters will share and comment because they’re trolls who love hating. Amateur commentators on both sides of the debate will talk ad nauseam on the subject of jeans, celebrityville, who’s who, and whatnot. They’ll hit the topic from every angle and beat that horse to death.
But when someone like Doja Cat comes along who is willing to do anything, that’s when a brand can get bold. Don’t just wear the lipstick. Take a bite out of it and make sure the cameras see you do it. There’s no sense in doing anything these days if the cameras aren’t rolling. What good is life if someone isn’t taking pictures of it?
Doja Cat was perfect for the role, though. She has dressed as a literal worm for a red carpet appearance. Then, the video of her singing about cows went viral. She’s one of those celebrities who turns anything she touches into gold. If she took a video of herself doing her nails, it would go viral. But the VMAs gave her a platform to turn lipstick into today’s cultural flashpoint. What a wonderful world we live in!
Just when you thought the VMAs had nothing left because it’s all been done and there’s nothing new anyone can bring to the table, Doja Cat hands her beer to someone. Challenge accepted! What will next year bring?
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