Punk You Remakes Punk'd for the Social Media Age

It's time to strap on your Ugg boots and download Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle because you're about to take a Wayback Machine ride to 2003. That's when a little series called Punk'd premiered on MTV and made cable television safe for the art and science of celebrity pranking. But to get a peek at the future of on-camera pranks, you've got to return to the present. Producer Sophie Watts and entrepreneur Joe White took the stage at ADWEEK's Brandweek conference on Wednesday to provide a sneak peek at their co-venture Punk You, which remakes Punk'd for the YouTube age with the assistance of that show's co-creator, Jason Goldberg. "This is a format that we've specifically designed for social media," Watts said, citing the popularity of pranking on platforms like YouTube. And to ensure that Punk You thrives in this brave new world, skilled Hollywood hands Watts and Goldberg recruited White to provide tech industry insights. "This is really a team of Hollywood and Silicon Valley execs coming together to produce the future of content production and distribution," White observed. You don't have to wait to see the results of this Hollywood and Silicon Valley collab: Punk You is already live on YouTube and also has a presence on major social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Watch the first episode of Punk You below: Here are the top three things that Watts and White want you to know about the next evolution for Punk'd and pranking in general: Social media stars are the new celebrities Back in the day, Punk'd co-creator Ashton Kutcher used his Hollywood connections to prank movie, TV, and music stars like Justin Timberlake, Mischa Barton and Dwayne Johnson. Flash-forward twenty years, though, and the next generation of celebrities is emerging from social media, not traditional media. That's why Punk You's first episode targets Twitch streamer and content creator Jynxzi, while the second features rapper NLE Choppa, who saw his audience rise courtesy of YouTube. According to Watts, once these social media-raised celebs get over the shock of being pranked, they see the benefits of expanding their online footprint. "It allows [fans] to see them in action in real-time as their most authentic selves," she said. "We're living our dream, making their content for a new generation of audiences." AI will change the game Sure, Jynxzi and NLE Choppa are able to largely handle their various social media obligations in-house now. But White warns that the advent of AI is about to seriously complicate the previously simple life of a content creator. "AI is going to exponentially increase the amount of content available on these channels," he warned, adding that most of that AI-generated content will be, for lack of a better word, bad. That means the pressure is on to produce quality content that feels like it was made by human hands, albeit with some occasional assists from AI tools. "AI will enable content to have multiple edits, multiple languages, and multiple territories," White said, noting that the increase in volume might be beyond the capabilities of most creators. Punk You is a test case for how he and Watts can function as a go-between for those influencers seeking to stay visible on increasingly competitive platforms. "We love pranks, but we're not messing around," he emphasized. Brand partners need apply No fooling—Watts and White are eager to welcome brand partners into the wide world of pranking, with the promise of getting in on the ground floor of a viral empire that's still in the construction phase. "Given our technology relationships, we'll have the best reach, the best data, and the best technology," Watts said. Meanwhile, White underlined that he expects Punk You to be in the social media game for the long haul, even as platforms like YouTube continue to evolve to keep young viewers streaming. "What brands care about is reliable distribution, reach, and resonance with those audiences," he said. "This is no longer just about creative content and distribution deals. Successful content in the social media age has become a multi-platform optimization problem."

Brandweek

Punk You Remakes Punk'd for the Social Media Age

Sophie Watts and Joe White are combining Hollywood and Silicon Valley for their new YouTube venture

Ethan Alter

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Ethan Alter