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Ahead of the Curve with Coco Mocoe
How to become a household name using the "Halloween Costume Theory" (+ "Anora" film review at the end)
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Coco Moco
Have you ever noticed that most actors, artists or creators only become a household name once they have such an identifiable look that someone can dress up for them as Halloween? You can't just wear a white T shirt and jeans. Even Napoleon Dynamite, who wore a white T shirt and jeans, had the phrase Vote for Pedro, which was really identifiable. This is why I love Halloween every single year. From a branding and marketing perspective. I love seeing the new looks of people who have recently become famous. It's such like a mile marker for the year before of who has really had such standout moments. This year, specifically, I saw so many Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie XCX's chapel roans, and even Tate McCraes. Even though those artists have been making music for over a decade and steadily growing their fan base, Sometimes what tips you over the edge is having that identifiable look. And of course there's so many other factors at play here, like hard work, drive, artistic ability, vision, having a good team around you. So I'm not negating any of those factors, but because I talk about marketing and branding on this podcast, that is what we are going to be focusing on today in the episode of the Halloween Costume Theory. Thank you guys so much for watching today's episode of Ahead of the Curve with Coco Moco and thank you for making the Sub Stack a bestseller. We've been growing so much on Sub Stack and for that I am so grateful. And thank you for those of you leaving reviews on Spotify and Apple podcasts so that more people who love marketing as much as us can find us outside of Substack. And I appreciate you all for being coconuts and just listening to me talk for 30 minutes or more. So back to the episode. We are talking about what I call the Halloween Costume Theory. While I'm sure I'm not the first person to have expressed this sentiment, it is a name that I gave to this concept a few years ago on TikTok when I began talking about it, where in order to become a household name, you often have to have an identifiable look that can be turned into a Halloween costume. And it doesn't even have to be a look that you wear every single day, although repetition does help with branding. But for some artists, it might be a look that they wore in a music video or at a performance. Like the VMAs are always a great moment where people have these Halloween costume moments such as Britney Spears and the Big Snake. It can also be red carpets. It could be something you wear in a video as a creator and if you're an actor. It could be a look that one of your characters wear. Today we are going to talk about some old and new examples of the Halloween costume theory. I will be referencing creators, actors and music artists so that we have an overarching reach of how to apply this depending on who you are. And at the very very end in the paid version of the sub stack, the extended episode, I'm going to go into my analysis of the movie Anora because I loved it so much and I went and actually watched it twice opening weekend at the theater. It is one of the only movies to get 99 on rotten tomatoes. It won the highest award a film can get at Cannes Film Festival and the Hollywood Reporter predicts that the lead, Mikey Madison is now in the lead to win the Oscar next year. She went from being a relatively side character that appeared in a few moments of movies like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream 5 to starring in this Sean Baker film and now in the running for an Oscar. In fact, Sean Baker wrote the role for her after seeing her in the two movies mentioned above. She learned how to strip, she learned Russian, and she learned how to speak a specific New York City accent which she was referencing the Brighton beach accent for the this role. I'm so in love with this movie and I could do a whole thesis on it, but we will save that for the end of the podcast. For those of you interested for Halloween Costume Theory, I asked the paid substack chat what are some examples of the Halloween costume theory and we got some great replies. If you guys ever want a shout out in this podcast and you love being a part of the conversation such as live events, that chat was going off during the VMAs and I loved it. Then you can become a paying member of the substack and join that group Chat K I hope I'm saying your name right. K A T J A said that Sia in the early days is such an example of this. The big blonde bob cut wig with the bangs over her face. This theory closely aligns with also Hollywood Hair theory which I've talked about, but I could do a whole other video on that if you're ever interested so let me know. Katja also mentioned Nara Smith and Lucky Blue Smith. They are really on this precipice of household name fame right now and I always like to say you aren't a household name until grandma knows who you are. So I wouldn't say that the grandmas in households know who they are, but if she were to appear on like a Dancing with the Stars. Then maybe they are getting so close to that kind of generational fame. But I would say right now their main demographic is probably millennial and Gen Z women. They have this really old Hollywood look. The toothpick that Lucky Blue Smith has. She's always wearing an apron and has like a slick back bun. I think they're going to need like a really big red carpet moment to maybe transcend into household name fame or maybe a magazine cover moment. I actually saw a girl at the bar. She was Lana Del Rey from specifically the paper magazine cover. So that's another way to do it is through magazine covers. And Gary, Gary, by the way, I love you. I know you've always been so supportive of me and so active in chats and stuff. So. Hi, I recognize your name right away referencing Alex Earle. Such a great one. The bleach blonde hair and a Miami Dolphins jersey. I do think that Alex Earl is probably reaching household name territory and her unwell co worker, I guess they are. Madeline Argie dressed up as her for Halloween. Just such a great indicator. I do think that Alex Earl needs like one more look, though, that can kind of push her over the edge. I think right now she's almost like there's not one thing that differentiates her, but that might be part of her appeal. I think someone similar to Alex Earl, who got pushed over that edge in some ways would have been like Julia Fox, who had the big black make eye makeup or like the denim beach swimsuit outfit that she wore, like, getting groceries. I think Julia Fox is a really good at like this, being an image architect in a way. Gary also mentioned that Alex might be going the Heidi Klum route with her Halloween party that she is now throwing, which I agree. I honestly think too. Like, I could be wrong, but I really think there's so many layers here when it comes to people that throw a lot of parties. Whether you're a celebrity or not, it's such a way to secure your social standing. We see brands do it all the time. The tart trips that they send people on, we saw the Kardashians. They would always throw these lavish parties and invite people. And I think it's a way to really stay in the good graces of either the people that you want to impress or the creators or other celebrities because they're less likely to disparage you if they know that you always throw these big parties that they want to have access to. So I could do a whole other episode on, like, kind of the social leverage of People that throw a lot of parties. And obviously it's not like a sinister thing or always a branding thing. It's just fun. But I do think that it is such, like a fascinating way for people to kind of have mobility within class systems. It's also such a way for people to like, show disposable income, especially at a time where the economy is tanking, to be like, I can afford to throw a party. There's so many layers there. But back to the Halloween costume theory. I'm going to start with a creator that has used this one creator that broke into household name fame multiple times by using the Halloween costume theory would be jojo Siwa. Years ago, she became massively famous with the bows on the side of her head. The bow branding almost became as recognizable as like Mickey ears on Disney. And she was able to sell tons of products, including the bows, for hundreds of millions of dollars. She leaned into maximalism with colors and bedazzles. And even though she wasn't a part of the OG Dance mom cast, she came in much later and she. I don't even think she was on it for as long, I'm not sure. But she became so famous because she was kind of larger than life and had really mastered this look that then people started dressing up as JoJo Siwa for Halloween. I would say the moment that she became like a household name fame again. You're not a household name until the grandma knows who you are. I would say that happened when she went on Dancing with the Stars and really solidified herself generationally. I also think Dancing with the Stars has had a really great rise recently with like reaching out and having these kind of Gen Z Internet celebrities on really gave it like a new wind in its sails. And now it's such a big show. But with all child stars like JoJo Siwa, eventually it was time for her to evolve if she wanted to keep up with the audience that she had grown as they grew up. I also genuinely think that, like, you can have a child fandom and that's great. And that's usually what people strive for because they are still with their parents, they have disposable income through their parents, they'll buy products, etc. But I genuinely think that it's so much better long term when people have an older audience. Like they get an audience once the audience is like 25 or older. Someone I think of with this would be like Joe Rogan, because if you can win an audience over once their personality is already formed, they're Less likely to be fanatical fans, the way maybe a teenager would be. But teenagers change their personality every six months as part of growing up. They become extreme versions of testing out who they want to be. And so they might grow out of your fandom quickly. Whereas if you're a celebrity and you gain a fandom that's in their late 20s or beyond, they will probably be a fan of you for a long time, as long as you're still putting out content because their personality is solidified, it's just much harder to win them over. Of course, JoJo Siwa, I believe, really evolved and had a second, like, Halloween costume theory moment when she wore that, like, black bedazzled still, but like, this red carpet outfit that kind of looked like Gene Simmons from Kiss. But could I. I could be mistaken. Didn't she say she didn't know who he was? I'm not sure, but I saw people dressing up as JoJo Siwa for Halloween as well. Like, in that black outfit, going viral for it. So again, like, JoJo Siwa is really good at creating these larger than life moments. I, in hindsight, when I was typing out the script, I was like, damn, I wish I would have done. It's such a specific reference. I wish I would have done JoJo Siwa on the Call Her Daddy podcast this year because she had this, like, bedazzled hat with, like, the strings hanging down and her head kept moving and, oh my God, it was like only something Jojo Siwa could pull off. And it'd be such a reference that, like, if you get it, you get it and we would be friends. And if not, that's okay. But, like, that would have been such a good Halloween costume. So maybe next year, another influencer now kind of a pop star that has been really having these Halloween costume moments, but not as big as JoJo Siwa would be. Addison Rae. Addison Rae doesn't have as distinct of a look as JoJo. Like the bow. I think she's going to need a few more red carpets or like, maybe music videos to really create that moment. However, her friend Troye Sivan dressed up as her when she had the pigtails and she was doing like a pop walk and she was reading the Britney Spears memoir while walking on the sidewalk. No one really knows to this day. She was actually reading the book while walking. But nonetheless, it was just so memorable, so hilarious. And it was a moment. It went so viral. And the moment I saw Troye Sivan, like his TikTok, where he was dressed, I was like, oh, that was Addison Ray's pap walk. It was the Britney Spears book, her VMA look, which I loved. I know it's polarizing. That was kind of a Halloween costume theory moment. But it was really close to Halloween, so I didn't actually see anyone dressed up like that. But I think that, like, Addison is getting closer to figuring out what that look might be. Moving on from creators, I want to talk about actresses. I mentioned earlier in this podcast how, like, even an indie film like Napoleon Dynamite, he had a Halloween costume look that's still big to this day. I can go to like a party city and see the vote for Pedro shirt. And that movie was huge when I think I was in like fourth grade. But it's still such a distinct look. One person from like even pre Internet would be Marilyn Monroe. She was an actress, but she really had that distinct white dress where she was standing on top of the air vent that like blew it up. She had the short blonde bob. She had on red lipstick. And I still see people to this day dress up as her for Halloween. And while you might think if you say white dress, short blonde hair, it could apply to a million people, and it could, it somehow still immediately translates to thinking about Marilyn Monroe. Another example of this would be Dorothy from the wizard of Oz. The blue plaid dress with the braids and the red shoes. It is probably one of the most worn and referenced Halloween costumes to this day. And the movie came out almost 90 years ago in 1939. It's so crazy to think about that we have movies that came out literally this year and do not have the same cultural hold that wizard of oz still has 90 years later. A more modern example of the Halloween costume theory when it comes to an actor breaking through and becoming mainstream would be Millie Bobby Brown when she had that shaved head in the first season of Stranger Things. That pale pink dress with the oversized blue utility jacket that was such a memorable look that the moment the show came out and started growing in popularity, so many people started wearing that for Halloween. And even as the show had more seasons and progressed and her looks changed, that is still the most memorable look. Stranger Things has also had other Halloween costume looks, such as the ice cream Ahoy parlor outfits worn by Maya Hawk and Joe Keery. And I see some other Millie Bobby Brown looks that are like in spirit Halloween, like Stranger Things. But that shaved head, like season one is truly the most memorable and identifiable. Either that same look, but when she was wearing the blonde wig, but but like same outfit. So that is A modern example of it kind of applying to, like, an actor. And then another example would be squid games. The dark green sweatsuits, the numbers on the jackets, or even the head of that girl animatronic that shot people in the first challenge. Those were very distinct looks that helped the movie break through into this, like, global zeitgeist. I remember two years ago when I went out for Halloween at a bar crawl in Hollywood. So many people were dressed as Halloween. And a little fun fact, if you guys ever do this. I actually made a Halloween costume bingo for my friends that year. And it was so fun. We made so many friends doing this. And what I did is, like, I came up with a bunch of costumes that I thought would be popular that year. It'd even just be like a Marvel costume, whatever. And then I. I gave it to all of my friends that it was screenshotted on our phones. And people had to walk up to people at a bar and like, take a selfie with them and then send it in the group chat. And if someone else already got a selfie with that person, you couldn't use that costume. And then the first person to create a bingo got a Starbucks gift card. But it was such a fun way to, like, meet strangers, like, have an excuse to talk to people out at the bars. Now for music artists, the Halloween costume theory is probably the most applicable to them. I would say for, like, movies, it's harder because it's. You're more at the mercy of the costume costume designer and the creators of the film. But with artists, you have a little more leeway in being able to create your own look. This is on a much, like smaller scale still. But the dare, he's not even a household name yet, but I saw people dressing up from his Halloween with the black sunglasses and the black suit. It's just such a memorable thing that he does over and over again. He really relies on repetition and branding. But one of the biggest new costumes that I saw this year from an artist would be Sabrina Carpenter. Her popularity as a Halloween costume this year compared to the last few years really shows that she's transcended just her fandom and, like, broken into being a household name fame. Her 60s Brigitte Bardot hair and the pastel colored corsets with the heart cut out. Her big white go go boots. She mastered her look this year. Even her CD, which I bought, was like a 60s magazine or a newspaper inside of, like, the pamphlet with all the lyrics. If you Google Sabrina Carpenter 2021 versus and then Google Sabrina Carpenter, 2024. You can see specifically this shift. She didn't change who she was as an artist in terms of her vocal abilities or her writing. She has always been such a great artist, but the moment she created this, like, specific look was really the moment that people started to notice her art who may not have otherwise. She specifically is working with the celebrity stylist Jared Elner, who I'm obsessed with. If you guys need a good Instagram follow, follow him. He dresses up a lot of the big celebrities, and I think that he's really great at using clothing as a way to, like, craft a world around the different artists that he works with and celebrities. He dressed Emma Chamberlain at her Met Galas, and he also dressed Camilla Cabello this past year at the Met Gala with that ice purse that someone lied and said it was like $17,000 or something. And I literally went viral because I just DM'd him. And I was like, hey, I'm making a video about this. Like, how much did the purse cost? And he was like, dude, it was only like, 38 on Etsy. And then we paid an artist a thousand dollars who for, like, creating the purse. But other than that, we don't know where this number came from. So that's, like, my claim to fame. I'm like, I've DM Jared Elner. But, no, he's really great. He was in Sabrina Carpenter's recent Vogue interview where she went through her concert looks. So he's a really great, like, Instagram follow because he styles all these celebrities. And I think the magic behind having a Halloween costume theory, if you are an artist and you obviously it takes having access to someone, but, like, having a stylist who can kind of create this brand for you and create this world for you. An art artist who's not at the level of Sabrina Carpenter fame yet, but is getting there would be Tate McCray. I became a fan of her when she really started leaning into this sporty aesthetic. It really helps her stand out from all the other pop girls, and it aligns specifically with her dance background. She's known for wearing black leather shorts, a cropped jersey, and combat boots. The long hair is really identifiable. She is from Canada. Her brother's a hockey player, and she even was wearing these, like, hockey goalie things on her leg in her recent album cover. Again, leaning into that sporty look. Her recent music video where she gets arrested nude while wearing a cop hat was a Halloween look that I saw the creator Dylan wearing. It was so great. And I do Think, though, that, like, she needs one more, like, really big, memorable look or, like, music video or red carpet to, like, push her over the edge and have another one of those moments. And then one artist who I would also say had a couple Halloween costume theory moments when breaking away from their Disney Persona would be Miley Cyrus. The blonde buzz cut and white tank top from her Wrecking Ball music video was a huge Halloween costume. That bear costume with, like, the space buns that she Wore at the VMAs with Robin Thicke, that was such a big moment that even this year, the popular influencer Tara Yummy dressed up as Miley Cyrus for Halloween in that exact outfit. There's something also in the water at, like, the VMAs, where that's always where these, like, big moments happen. And you really know that you pulled off this iconic look. If an influencer wears it 10 years later and people still know exactly who they are referencing. Miley Cyrus in general is really great at reinventing her look and with every era and album release. So let me know if you want me to do a deep dive into her one day. I think that she really learned a lot about creating that Persona, too, literally from being Hannah Montana. It was like she had to learn how to, like, go between being these two characters and one was a pop star and using hair as a way to identify which character she was. Miley Cyrus is just really great at reinventing herself. So I'd love to talk about that if you guys are interested. And I'd be crazy not to give an honorable mention to Chapel Roan. I saw Jake Shane dressed as Chapel Roan from her NPR Tiny Desk performance. Also, you guys, I don't know if I mentioned this in the last pod, but I went to the Olivia Rodrigo premiere for her movie, and the seating was random in the theater and, like, catty corner behind me, like, over my shoulder, was Chapel Roan. I was freaking out. So excited. I was like, oh, my God. I didn't say anything because I wanted to respect your privacy. But I know, I know I've gone viral a couple of times for, like, talking about her, and it's always positive. So I was curious if she recognized me, but who knows? Maybe not. I do wonder if Chapel Roan's Saturday Night Live look for her new song get the Job Done was maybe a reference to Dolly Parton or even, like, kind of a Trixie Mattel, who is also referencing Dolly Parton. The song is tongue in cheek about how women get the job done. And one of Dolly Parton's biggest songs was 9 to 5. Dolly is known for the big hair and the larger than life country girly outfits. I can't believe I didn't see the country angle coming with Chapel Round since she is from Missouri. It makes so much sense and her sound, her voice fit it perfectly. From the song that we heard, she's been teasing new music on her Instagram. I had a prediction that she might be leaning into or creating a male character for her next album. Similar to what Lady Gaga did with her sophomore album Born this Way. She created a character named like Joe Caldison or something and Chapel Roan dressed as Joan of arc at the VMAs who was a French girl who had to dress as a guy because she wanted to fight in the French army and couldn't unless she was a boy. So again, Chapel Roan referencing Joan of Arc, a girl who transformed into a boy. And then in I believe it was the Hollywood Reporter is where she did a photo shoot and in some of the editorial photos I swear I could be wrong. It looked like she was referencing Joe Caldisone from Lady Gaga. I could be wrong, who knows. But I whether she goes country, whether she creates a male Persona, I just love that Chapel Roan is so unpredictable, which makes every performance exciting and yet it makes so much sense for her once you see it happening. Another one of my favorite follows on Instagram is her stylist Genesis Web. She is Chapel Round stylist and one of the kind of image architects behind her as well, alongside Chapel Round's best friend and creative director Misha Spice. And let me know in the comments or the review of this podcast if you think other artists, actors or influencers have really leaned into this Halloween costume theory, either intentionally or not. A lot of times I don't even think it's intentional at first. In the last half of this podcast, I'm going to be going into Anora, one of the favorite movies I've seen this year. So if you're obsessed with this movie as I am, and you are not a paying subscriber yet, then you can do that@cocomoco substack.com it's $9 a month and you get access to every extended episode. And you will get a Weekly Friday trend report, which is one of the number one things my clients ask me for. They don't even always want advice on what they need to do. They're like, can you just tell me what's trending online? Like what's going to happen next? So that is the Friday Trend Report. So you will get access to both of those things and you will get access to the chat where we talk about pop culture and sometimes we give shout outs in the pod. Thank you guys though, so much. Even if you're not a paying member, but you just made it this far. Thank you for listening. I hope that you really enjoyed this episode. If you can leave a review on Apple and Spotify, that helps us reach bigger audiences. I'm moving back to LA soon. I'm going through a breakup. I'm like filming in my car and I'm really excited though at the potential of like interviewing influencers again, like being in a studio with people. So if you guys want that, then supporting the podcast, sharing it out, getting the word out with other people who love marketing and pop culture as much as we do, that really helps get the numbers there and keep this thing going. So thank you guys so much and paying subscribers. I'll see you on the other side.