The Rise of 'Naughty Tic Toc': How a Viral Audio and Holiday Mints Collided
By Alexander Ross
Ferrero has long relied on seasonal packaging to drive holiday volume. The company’s holiday novelty treats frequently include the dual-flavor "Naughty or Nice" dispenser, featuring sour cherry mints on one side and sweet peppermint on the other. It was designed as a harmless stocking filler aimed at families playing along with Santa's classic list.
Online culture took the packaging in a completely different direction.
Teenagers and young adults on short-form video feeds latched onto the stark black-and-red "Naughty" labeling. The contrast between wholesome, mass-market candy packaging and edgy, double-entendre audio tracks provided fertile ground for deadpan comedic skits. Instead of functioning as Santa-themed treats, the containers became handheld theatrical props. Users rattled the plastic dispensers to match bass drops, incorporated them into mock confessions, and treated the candy as an unhinged lifestyle badge.
The phonetic confusion between the candy brand name "Tic Tac" and the video platform "TikTok" accelerated the drift. Search algorithms began auto-completing queries around the phrase, feeding user curiosity and funneling viewers directly into an expanding library of creator skits.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
