A cologne advert from 2015 is one of the biggest memes on TikTok right now. The Sean O’Pry Edit, built on model Sean O’Pry’s Paco Rabanne 1 Million fragrance ad and set to Black Coast’s “TRNDSTTR (Lucian Remix)“, has become the platform’s favourite way to say that one thing finally made the boring part worth it.
The format runs in two beats. First comes a setup, usually on-screen text about something dull that people sit through: a party, a group project, a slow day at school. Then the beat drops, and the clip cuts to O’Pry striking dead-serious fragrance-ad poses, standing in for the moment you perk up: the free food arriving, the one hobby you actually like, the game finally getting good.
The Two-Beat Formula
The first edit was posted on September 9, 2026, by TikTok user @.fwmatu. It had 22.7 million plays and 5.2 million likes by October 20, according to its TikTok page, and it became the template for the trend. Know Your Meme added an entry for the format on October 16.
Remixes followed fast. A video about hope in every video game passed 17 million plays, one about a party passed 3.6 million, and versions about school, sleeping, anime characters and The Mentalist’s Patrick Jane each passed two million. The format works because the joke is universal: everyone has sat through something dull waiting for the one good part.
From Cologne Ad to Everyday Meme
The meme is still spreading. Trend tracker Virlo listed the Sean O’Pry edit among the top content trends on TikTok as of November 14, with 30 creators posting it, and the format has crossed onto Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Reddit.
It is also a reminder of how TikTok recycles culture. The ad is 11 years old, the remix is from 2014, and the combination has given both a second life. O’Pry himself has not commented on the trend, but his poses, shot for a fragrance campaign a decade ago, are now the face of every boring wait that ends well. The next time a dull meeting drags on, expect someone in the room to be thinking of that beat drop.
