Puppet influencers and the growing audiences giving them a hand
September 23, 2026
by
Insights from 1021 Creative
At 1021 Creative, we dig into what’s happening in culture and draw out insights from what we see. We have to; it’s in our DNA.
That’s what inspired us to launch our Trend Exploder. Much like an “exploded” diagram that shows you all the nuts and bolts of a complex design, our Trend Exploders break apart a trend to see where it comes from, where it is currently, and where it’s going.
Our first Trend Exploder focuses on influencers, but they aren’t human (exactly) and (importantly) they aren’t AI. They’re puppets!
There’s a new wave of puppet creators showing up across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and just a dozen of those creators have accounted for more than 950M views across said platforms in 2026 alone.
These puppets aren’t props or side characters anymore. They’re “spokespuppets” and emerging cultural voices, in categories like edutainment, gaming, music, sports, mental health, and ASMR.
Our analysis tracks the origin of this trend, unpicks these puppets’ appeal, explores what this trend means for brands, and pulls at the threads of the trend’s broader takeaways (don’t worry, we didn’t harm any puppets during this metaphor!).
And, if you want to know what the future may hold for this puppetry trend, we break that down as well, 1021-style.
You can download and read the report right here, and we look forward to bringing you more Trend Exploders in the future!
