Pub campaigners go viral with Gen Z TikTok trend

Campaigners have raised half of the £600,000 needed to save the pub

Campaigners hoping to save a village pub in Dorset have gone viral with their take on a Gen Z TikTok trend.

Residents in Langton Herring are raising funds to buy and reopen the Elm Tree Inn, which closed in November 2023.

The video sees villagers adopt youth slang in a bid to get their message across to younger supporters.

The clip has already been viewed more than 1.5m times and has attracted support from as far afield as Brazil and Canada.

The video is fronted by Tim and Hilary Warren and features fellow campaigners.

"Our village pub is the G.O.A.T.," declares Mr Warren, whose daughter helped write the script.

In the 50-second video, campaigners describe "getting lit on a Friday night" and "feeling salty" about the pub's closure.

Mrs Warren adds: "Be an Elm Tree stan and help these boomers save their pub."

Martin Pearson of Friends of the Elm Tree said: "We wanted to make something amusing, rather than just setting out our vision, but we think that made the point that this a community effort.

"We want everyone, including the coming generations to benefit from it, and for those visiting and participating in the life of the village and it's environment to be part of the Elm Tree Inn's future."

The Elm Tree campaigners are not the first to enlist the help of Gen Z to promote their cause.

In September, Fyfield Manor bed and breakfast in Oxfordshire posted a TikTok video with the caption: "When you ask your Gen Z daughter to write the marketing script."

Beamish Museum in County Durham also gained a million likes on its Gen Z-themed tour.