The Internet Sensation Undermining Woke Advertising

You probably haven't heard of Tony Zhu or the company he works for (LC Sign), but he has become an internet sensation by offering humorous anti-woke commentary while selling LED signs.

Even if one discounts the Super Bowl halftime show’s overtly subtle ideological (or rather, “idiot-logical”) bent, it is clear from the other Super Bowl commercials that a woke-progressive-DEI stance is still the dominant position when it comes to U.S. advertising. Some of this is obviously due to the gradual but steady movement of the Overton Window concerning social mores over the last few decades. But the majority of the woke-ishness that permeates all media, including advertising, is likely the result of deliberate actions taken by companies to advertise not only their products, but also their “woke” bona fides.

Bud Light and Target represent premier examples of this trend. For example, Anheuser-Busch VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid engaged trans personality Dylan Mulvaney to represent the brand, after concluding that Bud Light deserved a higher caliber of drinker than the entitled “frat bros” she understood to be the beer’s historic target audience. Meanwhile, Target went all-in on the overhyped, controversial, and minuscule trans and queer market by offering distinctly non-family friendly clothing (especially for children). Both of these companies’ reputations (and their sales) took some hits, as they and other companies have since realized that their rainbow allyship comes at a steep price in terms of the bottom line.

Many companies have opted to return to a more neutral “default setting” when it comes to their marketing strategies, or at least one that is more in tune with the majority of the culture (or their intended market demographic). Others have chosen a more adversarial approach to the current heavy handed left-of-woke messaging in commercials, and are being rewarded for their efforts.

An Unknown and Unlikely Marketing Sensation

One such company is an electric sign manufacturer based in Guangzhou, China, operating under the name LC Sign. You may not have heard of the company before, but if you have scrolled through video shorts on TikTok or YouTube lately, you might have noticed their social media director Tony Zhu (Aka “Tony the Homie” or “Tony from LC Sign) has recently become an internet sensation.

The 27-year old native of Henan, China joined LC Sign as a salesman in 2022 after graduating college with a degree in English and business. Since short-form videos have a proven track record of increasing sales and product awareness, LC Sign was looking to produce a livestream event on Alibabba and asked Tony to be part of it. The event was such a success, with viewers enjoying Tony’s personality and speaking style, that the company made him the head of their social media department. Tony began producing two videos a day highlighting the company’s products and services, but he realized that there was an obvious limit as to how much social media traction you can get from describing LED signs.

So Tony, who had always been a fan of comedian Russel Peters, started adding his own unique comedic elements into his videos by using various accents and cracking dry jokes with a deadpan face. But it was when, as intro to his sales pitches, he started using those elements to mock and ridicule the opinions and antics of the endless parade of woke and cringe TikTok influencers, that his videos went viral. To date, Tony’s videos have garnered millions of views and quadrupled the sales for LC Sign, and now other social media influencers—including the platform Linkedin—are trying to copy his style and content.

Some of Tony’s most famous examples of his style are as follows.

1. His most common intro is him giving his trademark deadpan stare into the camera in reaction to a TikTok video before responding, “Anyways...”

2. Tony is no fan of the “fake and gay” content online, such as when he called a popular California dance troupe “gay AF,” or when he commented on this Tesla owner.

3. He has criticized a TikTok influencer named the Rainbow Teacher with some sage advice on where to get the best education.

4. He hilariously pointed out the obvious flaw in the vapid virtue signaling of some overly green health-conscious mother.

5. He has ridiculed the use of pronouns by the LGBT crowd and even the validity of the question of gender and attraction.

6. Even the body-positivity movement has not escaped Tony’s commentary, such as when he commented on a corpulent woman who says that she doesn’t understand “What’s gotten into her lately,” to which Tony replies, “Apparently a lot of food.” Another example is this sight gag video.

7. But probably his best-known videos have been his President Trump impersonations, which he is quite the champ at, mimicking Trump’s voice and body movements. As one YouTube personality noted, how can you not laugh when a Chinese guy does an impression of an American president speaking Korean, Spanish or Japanese.

Selling more than Signs with Laughter

While some have found his videos offensive, and have accused Tony of “abusing minorities” and his humor of being puerile and prurient, Tony has stated that he does not care, and that he is only responding to the cringeworthy content he finds on TikTok. It might be tempting to assume that Tony is a conservative or traditional-minded person based on his videos, but he has been rather quiet about his personal views. In fact, all of the views he has garnered are for LC Sign, as he does not even maintain a personal social media presence. A simplistic explanation of his virality would be to say that Tony is doing all this simply for shock content in an effort to garner the most clicks and views for LC Sign’s products. If that were the case though, Tony’s commentary would also attack conservative content as well—which it does not.

More than likely, his opinions stem from his Chinese culture, both traditional and contemporary. In particular are two Chinese words (and concepts) that are used by the Chinese criticize certain aspects of modern culture, at home and in the West. The first term is xiǎo xiān ròu, which translates as “little fresh meat.” It is an internet slang term which originated in the 2010’s to describe the effeminate and even androgynous male models or pop musics stars who were all looks and no talent. It later took on the negative connotation of a weak, pampered and foppish male—a male that was contrary to the image of the strong, stoic and imposing man that the ruling party desired for their male citizens.

The other concept which may be shaping Tony’s outlook is baizou, which means “white left.” It is another online term which came into prominence in China but drifted into Western internet threads after the election of Donald Trump in 2016. The term is an insult, a condescending description of a western-educated, hypocritical, naïve person who cares more about abstract ideas concerning racism, the environment, and other social justice causes than real world issues (the word “libtard” being an American equivalent).

These two concepts are a fitting description and rationale behind Tony’s creative content. His videos have garnered a huge following around the world, with the number of people willing to laugh at them far outnumbering his Western-woke (i.e. baizou) detractors, which seems to prove the point. After all, if the same content was being made by a straight white MAGA-hat-wearing male, it would be denounced to no end with a panoply of “phobic” and “ist” (racist, sexist, etc.) aspersions. But since Tony is not white and from a non-Western culture, he seems to get a pass (baizou indeed!).

Regardless, Tony’s fame shows that the cultural mood is changing, where people feel more comfortable to not just “lay off the woke” when it comes to things such as marketing, but to actively denounce and mock it. Mel Brooks once stated that laughter and ridicule were far more powerful weapons against tyrants and the overly pretentious than war and violence.

Tony Zhu is putting Brooks’ words into action. Instead of reasoned debate or less-than-hinged screeds, which are rarely effective and end up becoming just another part of the current culture war’s background noise, he deftly uses mockery, satire and laughter to call out the fatuousness of the woke worldview; a worldview that is struggling to maintain its own sense of legitimacy. Oh, and yes, he does this also to sell LED lighted signs.

Hopefully he continues his mission, as well as inspire others to do likewise, in order to make the world a happier and brighter place (pun intended).

Photo Credits- LC Sign and YouTube.