"You may not recognize the name Peter Kuli, at first blush, but you definitely know his impact on pop culture. In October 2019, Kuli (a college sophomore) remixed a friend’s audio clips into a music track that he then uploaded to TikTok. The name of the song? 'OK boomer.' His tweet about the song ignited a new trend and within a few weeks, tens of thousands of 'OK boomer'-themed TikTok videos flooded the Gen Z-dominated platform.

"Not long after, New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz published an article that catapulted 'OK boomer' to the mainstream, codifying the point-of-view of a new generation. Gen Z has reached a boiling point over issues like racism, gender inequality, college debt, climate change and gun violence. 'OK boomer' became, as Kuli called it, a 'digital middle finger'—not against baby boomers en masse but against a perceived mindset of ignorance and inaction. 

"Enter 2020. Gen Zers now have their digital middle fingers armed and ready to flip off brands who hold that same 'Boomer' mindset. The events of the past year have deeply impacted Gen Z, a group that is coming of age at the intersection of a global pandemic, a reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement, and a not-so-peaceful transition of presidential power."

Article: From 'Ok Boomer' to 'Ok Brand'—How to Align with Gen Z's Social Conscience