Don't Look at the Template

About

Don't Look at the Template refers to a series of videos on TikTok using the caption "don't look at the template" over a random video using a CapCut template, sometimes sexual in nature, in hopes that viewers will succumb to reverse psychology and click the template, revealing the template's preview. Sometimes, the template preview has sexual implications, such as women twerking, while other times it is a generic video. The trend is often used similarly to bait-and-switch trends like Rickrolling, with one of the most common results of clicking the template being a video of Jay from Enhypen set to "All Girls are the Same" by Juice Wrld. It is also possibly used to drive engagement to videos by keeping the viewer on the video for longer.

Origin

It is unclear when the trend started. One of the earliest videos telling viewers to not look at the template was uploaded by TikToker^[1] @bragonballzisthegoat on January 18th, 2023, garnering over 200,000 views in four months. On February 27th, 2023, TikToker^[2] @naturalbambootemp posted a similar video, inspiring numerous viewers to comment asking why they shouldn't check it and claiming to see nothing but the CapCut preview when clicking on the template, garnering over 336,000 views in three months (shown below).

Spread

The trend spread over the following months, inspiring some videos with millions of views. For example, on April 12th, 2023, TIkToker^[3] @strwbvriisxluv posted a version of the trend that gained over 12 million views in a month (shown below, left). On April 21st, TikToker^[4] @vazil_baster posted a version that gained over 12 million views in the same rought span of time (shown below, right).

Several TikTokers have offered explanations for the trend. TikToker^[5] @ev_flobs posted a video likening the trend to Rickrolling, claiming there isn't meant to be anything in the template.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References