Eventually, every celebrity and politician (though hopefully not every brand) will have taken the Ice Bucket Challenge. So, what next?
The moment the ALS campaign went crazy, we braced for the inevitable slew of copycats. The only question is, Which one will complete hijack your news feed next?
Below, Adweek takes a look at some of the contenders.
• Lather Against Ebola Challenge
More than 3,000 people have been infected with Ebola, and more than 1,500 have died. Though the disease has a horrifically high mortality rate of 90 percent if untreated, Ebola can be spread only through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. So, simple measures like hand washing can prevent outbreaks. Edith Brou, an Ivory Coast blogger, was inspired by the ALS trend to create the Lather Against Ebola Challenge. Ebola hasn’t yet spread to the coast, and Ivorians are determined to keep it that way with the challenge and some catchy tunes. There is no specific fund to donate to—awareness of prevention is the key of this campaign.
Pros: Easy to remember, easy to complete.
Cons: No direct benefit to those already suffering.
Rating: Three ice cubes out of five.
• Bear Mace and Waterboarding Challenge
A gentleman in a “Party with Sluts” T-shirt was challenged ALS style and upped the ante by getting bear maced and waterboarded to raise awareness of suicide by veterans. An average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day, and a little waterboarding and bear mace are apparently not nearly as bad as what many of our veterans experience. There’s no specific charity affiliated with this challenge, and it’s unlikely it will catch on—but hey, now you’re aware of it.
Pros: With a lot of blog coverage, more people are aware of how many veterans are lost to suicide every day.
Cons: Who in their right mind would take this challenge? (Actually, a surprising number of people.)
Rating: Two ice cubes out of five.
• Taco Beer Challenge
It started as a twitter joke by @AndreaGrimes, but now the Taco Beer Challenge is legit making money and headlines for pro-choice organizations. What do tacos and beer have to do with abortion rights? Well, what does ice have to do with ALS? Adventurous pro-choice advocates are taking it up a notch by eating a taco and drinking a beer while donating.
Pros: It’s really easy to eat a taco and/or drink a beer.
Cons: Pro-lifers attacking you directly on Twitter.
Rating: One ice cube out of five.
• Plant a Tree for Groot Challenge
Did you enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy, in which Vin Diesel plays a glorified Ent (sentient tree creature) named Groot? Then you will probably enjoy joining Diesel’s followers in helping to plant a tree for Groot. The Plant a Tree for Groot Challenge is simple, and the benefit is obvious. The only thing better than funding research is being the change you want to see in the world. Besides, we should probably be more concerned about guarding the future of this planet than the future of the galaxy writ large.
Pros: Celebrity backing, connection with popular movie, large fan base.
Cons: No specific charity. Get on it, Arbor Day Foundation!
Rating: Four ice cubes out of five.
• Rubble Bucket Challenge
Unable to find ice cubes in a war zone? Clean water too precious a commodity to pour over your head? Ayman al Aloul, a journalist, wanted to raise awareness of the conflict in Gaza but had to improvise with a bucket of rubble from damaged buildings. He doesn’t challenge specific people, but does challenge us all to be empathetic to the suffering in Palestine and raise awareness of the situation with #remainsbucketchallenge. And he does it while making Westerners feel really stupid about wasting clean water and ice, which we can easily get in abundance.
Pros: Draws attention to the first-world nature of the ALS challenge.
Cons: No specifically charity. Difficult to replicate.
Rating: Two ice cubes out of five.
• Rice Bucket Challenge
Perhaps the best pun-based version on the Ice Bucket Challenge is the Rice Bucket Challenge in India. It’s easy. Give a bucket of rice to someone in need, or if you can’t, donate to sponsor meals for children. The Rice Bucket Challenge was created by Manju Latha Kalanidhi, who thought the waste of water was impractical. With tens of thousands of likes in just a few days and massive amounts of Indian press coverage, you can expect local versions to pop up in other countries.
Pros: Immediate, local effect with zero waste.
Cons: It would have to be altered to spread out of Asia, but this one could go all the way.
Rating: Five ice cubes out of five.
• No Ice Bucket Challenge
For all the haters out there, the No Ice Bucket Challenge is the anti-ice bucket challenge. The gist is, just donate to the charity of your choice and then shut up about it, geez. Ironically, it’s basically bringing us back to the time before ice buckets when people just gave to charity sans gimmick. Except for those T-shirts and one-for-one products and stupid races and—look, the point is we’re already sick of the whole thing.
Pros: No water waste. Haters gonna hate.
Cons: Trading stupid ice water videos for self righteous whining about said same videos.
Rating: Two ice cubes out of five.
• Camel Toe Challenge
While camel toe is generally an undesirable situation, the Camel Toe Challenge encourages it—for cervical cancer awareness. Easy to replicate and sure to make a splash in your Facebook feed, you can expect to either be rolling your eyes or enjoying this challenge a little too much for at least a month.
Pros: Lots of camel toe pictures, if you’re into that.
Cons: Lots of camel toe pictures, if you’re not into that.
Rating: One ice cube out of five.
• ISIS Bucket Challenge
Radio host Mike Slater from the conservative network The Blaze posted a YouTube video where he appeared to scald himself with hot soup and challenged Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow and Michael Moore to do the same. Then, on second thought, he says, “No wait, this goes to the guy in the black hood from ISIS.” Slater admitted later that the whole thing was faked and he did not actually scald himself with hot soup. Of course, he’s not the only one to have noticed that “ice” and “ISIS” sound similar, so there are a couple of these popping up, but don’t expect it to become the next big thing.
Pros: Did you have any idea who Mike Slater was before this?
Cons: Attempting to hijack a charity message for strange political grandstanding.
Rating: Zero ice cubes out of five.
