TikTok’s Tube Girl trend—how brands are embracing her self-confidence ethos
Sabrina Bahsoon’s motto of self-confidence is resonating with brands such as MAC, Spotify and AirBaltic.
Aliver
The newest TikTok “it girl” is Sabrina Bahsoon, otherwise known as “Tube Girl,” who has captured the attention of people and brands after sharing videos of herself riding London’s underground transit system, or the “Tube,” as it is commonly referred to.
In just a matter of weeks, Bahsoon, a model and recent law school graduate, has garnered millions of views on her videos. Bahsoon’s content features her filming herself with her back phone camera and a wide-angle lens, as she swivels her phone in a series of different camera angles. Bahsoon often lip-syncs and dances to various pop songs.
Since mid-August, Bahsoon has shared nearly three dozen videos filmed in this format—which she’s referred to as “pretending you’re in a music video”—to her TikTok, where she boasts nearly 475,000 followers. But while she initially began creating these videos as a way to romanticize her long commutes around London, her content has given rise to a phenomenon the internet has dubbed the “Tube Girl effect,” which essentially refers to a social media movement focused on promoting self-confidence.
Many TikTok users have commented on Bahsoon’s videos, expressing how anxious and self-conscious they would feel if they tried filming videos similar to hers on crowded subways or other public transit. Bahsoon, however, has continually encouraged her viewers not to care or feel embarrassed about what others might think of them.
TikTokers have largely celebrated her unwavering confidence in these videos, with comments such as “social anxiety is afraid of you girl” and “in tube girl we trust” popping up across her content. The hashtag #TubeGirl has drawn 410 million views in the past month and over 80 million in just the past seven days, as of writing.
And now brands are embracing this ethos as well. MAC Cosmetics connected with Bahsoon ahead of the brand’s “Face Show” runway event at London Fashion Week earlier this month. After just five days of working with Bahsoon’s management, the brand featured her as a model and creator at the fashion and makeup show, according to Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois, senior VP and global chief marketing officer at MAC Cosmetics.
“We just knew we needed to get Sabrina, self-proclaimed MAC girl, involved,” Moudachirou-Rébois said in an email, referring to Bahsoon mentioning the makeup brand in unsponsored TikTok content. In one video, where she is being interviewed on TikTok channel FeelGoodWoo, Bahsoon pulls a tube of MAC lip gloss and a compact mirror out of her purse.
“Not only is Sabrina a model, she … perfectly encapsulates the fearless vibe we wanted to bring to the event,” Moudachirou-Rébois added. “We love partnering with culturally relevant voices like Sabrina who help us drive conversations and trends larger than beauty.”
In addition to walking the runway at MAC’s makeup and fashion show, Bahsoon shared two TikTok videos sponsored by the brand, including one showing others “how to tube girl” and a “get ready with me” video she shared ahead of the fashion show.
A number of brands have leveraged the “Tube Girl effect” in their own social content. The NHL’s Boston Bruins, for example, shared a video of the team’s captain, Brad Marchand, emulating Bahsoon’s signature filming style. Airline AirBaltic referenced a video in which the creator proclaimed “Hot girls don’t have a license. We take public transport,” sharing a video of one of the airline’s female pilots that instead declares, “Hot girls don’t have a license. We fly planes.”
Spotify, too, capitalized on Bahsoon’s popularity and duetted one of the creator’s TikToks to promote her “Tube Girl” playlist of the songs she listens to during her commute.
Bahsoon’s partnership with MAC seems to be just the tip of the iceberg, however. In a recent video, she hinted that several other brands have already reached out to her in her DMs. A slew of brands, including Dove, Coach and Juicy Couture, have commented on several of her videos, as well. In a recent interview on TikTok U.K.’s channel, Bahsoon said she’s looking forward to working with “some of the brands that have reached out, especially the ones that I’ve loved my whole life.”
Moudachirou-Rebois also teased a continued relationship with Bahsoon, saying “more to come!” when asked about an extended partnership.
It seems Bahsoon’s followers have no issue with her incorporating brands into her videos.
“Get that bag tube girl!!!!!!” one commenter wrote.
“BOOKED AND BUSYYYY get it tube girl!!!!” another said.
