In case Cady Heron hasn’t told you yet, October 3 is Mean Girls Day. To celebrate that unofficial holiday, Paramount turned to TikTok. For one day only, the distributor of Mean Girls uploaded the 2004 film across a series of 23 videos.
The videos went live on an official Mean Girls TikTok account. Though the full movie is no longer available there, Paramount is still using the account to engage with fans of the cult hit.
@meangirls #OnWednesdaysWeWearPink ♬ Watch now on Digital and Paramount Plus – Mean Girls
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The TikTok version of Mean Girls was only up for a single day, but that was long enough for the stunt to generate a wave of reactions across the internet. Some observers noticed that Paramount seemed to adopt the strategy used by content pirates, who have circumvented copyright rules by uploading movies and TV shows across sequential TikToks. That tactic has become more viable since TikTok expanded its maximum video length to ten minutes last year.
Some TV writers had stronger negative responses. One of the main issues that led to the recent Writers’ Guild of America strike is the effect streaming platforms have on residuals. Now that the strike has been resolved, writers noticed that Paramount’s move circumvented the new residual rules. “As the WGA strike comes to a close, studios find another way not to pay us for our work,” wrote producer Rebecca Green.
The WGA may have beef with Paramount, but free digital distribution of mainstream film and TV content is nothing new. Major studios have promoted big-budget shows by sharing pilots on platforms like YouTube. And even if Paramount kept Mean Girls on TikTok for more than one day, it would be unlikely to cannibalize much of its own revenue. After all, the comedy classic is already available in full (with ads) on YouTube.
