Everything You Need to Know About the “Adult Swim” TikTok Trend

The videos being recreated are called ‘bumpers'.

If you’ve been on TikTok at all lately, you’ve probably come across some very similar looking videos featuring very out of context footage.

On top of that, they're followed either by the words [adult swim] or the letters [as].

So, if you’re confused as heck, you’re not alone. Many an Aussie (or anyone outside the US) TikTok user has come across these videos and struggled to understand what on earth it’s about.

To give you some clarity, we’re here to break down what it is and why it’s being recreated, so you can have a go too.

@okyanger

I made this instead of actually studying #adultswim #apexams

♬ VANO 3000 - VANO 3000

What is [adult swim]?

So, for you to get the point of this trend we need to give you some context on what ‘Adult Swim’ actually is.

Essentially, Adult Swim is an American programming block as a part of the cable network Cartoon Network (it airs each evening from 8pm to 6am US local time).

It’s usually geared towards an older audience, but it seems Gen Z has plenty of memories watching the network from when they were younger.

@mallllllen

[as] birthday suit time ;) #as #adultswim #fyp

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Adult Swim was founded in 2001 and still exists today, but the clips that TikTokers are referencing is more of a nostalgic nod to some of the advertisements the network once played in their first few years of production. These ‘ads’ are called ‘bumpers'.

Because Adult Swim is usually only watched by people living in the US, most of us in other parts of the world have been confused by this trend.

What are bumpers?

So, bumpers or ‘bumps’ are short videos that feature a completely random scenario. The clip plays out, sometimes with really out of context text on screen, and then the Adult Swim logo is revealed after being hidden.

This exact style of bumpers is more specific to Adult Swim but it’s essentially just a transitional clip in-between ad breaks and regular programming. Think of ABC kids—from when you were younger—and the filler ads about the channel that would play in-between shows.

Here’s a couple of examples if you’re still not sure what we’re on about:

So, what’s the TikTok trend?

It seems that Gen Z Americans think of early 2000s Adult Swim bumpers as super nostalgic, so to remind them of their childhood (and have a bit of fun) TikTok users have been recreating Adult Swim bumpers with their own personal spin.

You may have also noticed that all of these bumpers seem to feature the same music overtop, as with most TikToks, the music carries the trend.

The song in question is an unreleased track by Vano 3000 and has all the mysterious and creative vibes necessary. (It’s actually a sample of BADBADNOTGOOD’s song “Times Moves Slow”.)

@supvano

Mukbang with VANO 3000 (short version) 🕊#mukbang #nyc #fyp #4u #viral

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Vano actually sparked the trend with his track after posting a video to TikTok of a person in a Spider-Man costume in the Times Square-42nd Street subway station in New York, with the text [adult swim] overtop.

@supvano

Spider man acting boujee 👁👄👁 🤷‍♂️🕊 #adultswim #commercial #spiderman #fyp #4u #vano3000 #nyc

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The track now has over 226.5K videos on TikTok and is not slowing down in popularity.

Adult Swim themselves have even jumped on the bandwagon, making their own bumps to this beat for TikTok and resharing other creators’ versions on Instagram.

@adultswim

We see you #adultswim #adultswimbump #vano3000

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So, if you want to give it a go, all you need to do is get creative!

Find something that you would consider mundane or uninteresting to film, prepare your [as] or [adult swim] logo and just film and reveal. It’s seriously that easy.

Some creators have gone really simple with these videos while others are super elaborate with complex shots, camera angles and logo reveals.

Tbh, I’ve gotta give it to Gen Z for their creativity on this one. Hats off to them.

@blackquarterzip

#vano3000 #adultswim

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Header Image: TikTok (@adultswim, @mallllllen and @okyanger)