Nearly every day, there’s a new trend kicking off online, from layering praise music over men watching sports to users speaking like their favorite pop culture figures, but if they were an owl. Now, it’s 80s rock-ballad odes to Hidden Valley Ranch being belted out by Black creators.
Videos of Black users lip-syncing the track, creating Hidden Valley Ranch-inspired nail art, remixing the jingle over anime clips, and more are popping up across TikTok and Instagram Reels. In an era where TikTok is increasingly becoming a launchpad for creatives to have their content platformed at lightning speed while still retaining credit for their original work, moments like this don’t just trend, they’re leading to real exposure and sometimes significant monetary gain.
“Hidden Valley Ranch / Sauce boss, they will find you / Hidden Valley Ranch will guide you / Hot wings: not without you / Hidden Valley Ranch,” goes the now-viral tune created by Alandria Killian, known as @Langguini on TikTok.
In her original post, which has now surpassed three million views and drawn thousands of shares and comments, she leans into the camera, delivering the lyrics with dramatic flair reminiscent of an ’80s and ’90s action cartoon theme song.
“I’m overwhelmed to see the different variations and the different versions; it’s mostly amazing to see,” Killian told Today. “It’s Black History Month. Ranch was founded by a Black man. I’m loving it. Honestly, I’m hoping that the movement continues throughout the entire year.”
As quietly as it’s often kept, she’s right, white America has a Black man to thank for its favorite dipping sauce. Steve Henson created ranch dressing in 1949 and perfected the recipe in 1954. And technically, the internet has Dr Pepper to thank for this latest jingle craze.
After another creator, Romeo Bingham, was reportedly paid $2 million for a viral Dr Pepper jingle — though the brand has not publicly confirmed that figure — Killian jokingly uploaded one for Mountain Dew. That playful post gained traction quickly, including a comment from Hidden Valley Ranch itself, which prompted her to respond with what would become the now-viral anthem.
“It popped up in my head immediately,” Killian told TODAY.com. “A lot of people do not know that that video literally was me seeing the comment, clicking record, singing, ‘Hidden Valley Ranch,’ and boom.”
The company has since leaned all the way in.
“The jingle took off because it was so catchy and fun — and trust me, we know,” Daniel Schear, Hidden Valley Ranch’s marketing director, told TODAY.com. “Our social media manager got it stuck in her head, then she got it stuck in mine, and soon the whole team was humming it.”
When asked whether the viral moment has led to the kind of reported success others have seen, Killian, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and working in the financial industry, hinted that something was indeed in the works in a somewhat ambiguous TikTok post shared on Sunday.
In the video, Killian, dressed in a white sweatsuit, dances as she reveals that it’s official Hidden Valley merch, complete with the brand’s logo across the back.
“We did it! The Official HVR jingle,” reads the text over the clip. The caption adds, “Signed, sealed, and delivered,” alongside a chef’s kiss and laughing emoji, plus hashtags including #HiddenValleyRanch, #jingle, #commercials, and #themesong.
