Why Addison Rae’s rebrand is pure genius, and why you should care about it
I’ve always loved Addison Rae. I loved her when she refused to stop filming a TikTok dance to pose for a photo with a fan. I loved her when she got papped pensively reading Britney Spears’ autobiography in the street. And I really loved her when she launched perhaps one of the most impressive rebrands of the decade.
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This week on Explained By a Blonde, I’m taking a break from podcast revelations, internet beef and obvious rage-bait to focus my attention on the it girl of the moment. And no, I am not talking about Chappell Ronan (for once) or the diva behind the counter at Merchants Fish & Chips. That being said, whoever you are, I love you.
@penjaminblinkers who is this DIVA 💜 @Merchants Fish & Chips #fyp #gunt #serving #slay #servingcuntandchips #fishandchips
♬ QKThr - Aphex Twin
This article will be all about former TikTok star and current Gen Z icon Miss Addison Rae and how she managed to shift her public perception from cringe chronically online tween to a pop icon on the rise. From outfit upgrades to bagging herself some particularly fabulous besties, let’s get into the genius that is the Addison Rae rebrand.
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Who is Addison Rae?
Addison Rae is a 24-year-old media personality who first found popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok in 2019. For all those of you who don’t remember what TikTok used to be like during those days; the app was almost exclusively run by attractive teenage girls dabbing and throwing it back to ‘Savage’ and ‘Say So’. Honestly, it was a softer, simpler time. We were just coming out of a Donald Trump presidency, rather than heading into the next one…
And Rae was queen of this world, reaching one million followers within just a few months of being on the platform and quickly becoming the poster child for a new generation of online stars.
@oldtiktokvideos__ i remember this video so well ❤️❤️ #addisonrae #recommendations #oldtiktok #tiktok #dance #foryou #fyp #foryoupage
♬ original sound - old tiktoks
@addisonstiktoks1 “Hey boy I really wanna be with you!” #AXERatioChallenge #CapCut #lipsync #lipstick #raees #old #oldtiktok #snowdtormseason #NextLevelDish #DanceWithTurboTax #fyypppppppppppppppppp #foryoupageofficiall #foryoupage #foryou #blue #fyp #addiction #adoptme #roblox #advice #2020 #foryou #viral #tiktok #danc #dance #addisonrae #brycehall #adventure
♬ original sound - Addisons TikToks
The thing is though, hardly anyone took the content creator seriously. I mean, in her defence, no one took any TikToker seriously. But Rae in particular was on the receiving end of quite a bit of online trolling. For example, her acting debut in the remake He’s All That went down as a major flop (granted, her performance was) and it’s fair to say that people were also not impressed with her first foray into the music industry, a single of the title ‘Obsessed’.
See, I personally have believed for a few years now that Rae was always serving us high camp and just no one was perceptive enough to notice. If you deep some of her most viral videos, she’s kind of hilarious.
@popculturewave addison rae chnaged lives with this🤭 #fyp #popculture #foryou #trending #viral
♬ original sound - pop culture moments🫶🏼
Everyone seemed to just miss the genius, except of course this queen, who took the words straight out of my mouth:
i think addison rae is the perfect example of embracing the cringe and turning into iconic unseriousness
— To. SAMMY 💜🦄 OX CLEVELAND 🙌 (@samuelhayy) November 6, 2024
Unpacking the Addison Rae rebrand
Over the years, I’ve seen countless content creators find fame, wealth, and popularity on social media. They develop loyal fan bases and rack up impressive social capital online—they even appear on a chat show or two. However, there’s only a small percentage of people who are then able to turn that internet fame into something more mainstream, something more tangible. Addison Rae is one of those people.
I’d probably say that Rae’s public transformation really started to pick up towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. Through minor aesthetic decisions and savvy business deals, the influencer went from someone we periodically envied to someone we genuinely enjoyed.
You know you’ve officially made it when netizens start ranking your most iconic moments in compilation videos:
@liv1eedits the interviewers were so mean tho #foryoupage #viral #fy #fyp #blowup #plsfyp #dontflop #foryou #blowup #addisonrae #iconicmoments #ranking
♬ original sound - liv1eedits
Things also really started shifting for the content creator when she bagged a feature from Charli XCX on her song ‘2 die 4’.
@partygirlpartygirl CHARLI XCX. PARTYGIRL BOILER ROOM. BROOKLYN. #charlixcx #partygirl #boilerroom #addisonrae #2die4 #part2
♬ original sound - PARTYGIRL
Don’t get me wrong, ‘2 die 4’ is objectively a bop all on its own, but bringing Charli onboard immediately turned Rae into something she’d never been before: cool. Maybe you could argue she’d always been considered aspirational, attractive, and successful. But no-one had ever thought of Rae as cool per se.
Her creative and personal collaborations with the mother of Brat summer pushed Rae into an entirely new realm. She went from appearances on The Tonight Show to Boiler Room sessions with Charli XCX—you tell me which one sounds cooler.
2024 has been Rae’s most successful year yet. ‘Diet Pepsi’ and ‘Aquamarine’ were immediate hits with fans, leaving the gays and the girlies gagging over Rae’s creative vision:
@sonymusicnl her whole album better be this vibe😌 #addisonrae #dietpepsi #viral #foryou #summer @Addison Rae
♬ Diet Pepsi - Addison Rae
@armandouglz Turning into a jellyfish tonight. #addisonrae #aquamarine #dietpepsi #mermaid
♬ original sound - Écoute chérie
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Oh and don’t even get me started on Rae joining Charli and Troye Sivan on the Sweat tour.
@troyehub wake me up bc THIS IS A DREAM ✨ #troyesivan #charlixcx #addisonrae #sweattour #dietpepsi #concerts
♬ Diet Pepsi - Addison Rae
Call it luck, strategy, or just really great hair—Addison Rae’s rebrand deserves this amount of attention and applause. And it’s a sure thing that she’s only getting started. The Rae-naissance is well and truly upon us, and I’m here for it.
