Viral memes tend to come and go with the wind, which is why it was all the more surprising that “on fleek,” a term popularized from a viral Vine video, has lasted so long. Three years later, people are still using the phrase, albeit with decreasing frequency. In an interview with Teen Vogue, the originator of “on fleek” says she wants to get it trademarked.
Kayla Newman, who goes by Kayla Monroee on social media, has started a GoFundMe to raise money to have the phrase “on fleek” trademarked. The page has already received over $13,000 of an admittedly lofty goal of $100,000. Newman says in the interview that she wishes she “had a team of lawyers” at the time it went viral, but was only 16 at the time. As an 18 year old college freshman, she has apparently wised up to ways of the world.
“When I say celebrities using ‘on fleek’, I felt good,” Kayla Newman recalls. “It showed me they actually do pay attention to young people. I was kind of disappointed when I saw brands taking and suing the phrase, but I knew my time would come.”
Newman intends to take the money she expects to get from the trademark and start her own beauty brand. Trademarking phrases is never easy, so we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.
[via Teen Vogue]