How Taylor Swift's engagement broke the internet and sent brands into a marketing frenzy

The singer and her fiancé, Travis Kelce made history by having one of the most-liked Instagram posts within a day of sharing it

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announcing their engagement. Picture: Instagram.

Taylor Swift and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, have broken the internet with the announcement of their recent engagement.

The singer and the NFL star, who have been dating since 2023, shared photos this week from their recent engagement in a garden filled with pink and white flowers, in a joint post which has since racked up more than 33 million likes, 2.5 million reposts, and 9.9 million shares.

They made history by having one of the most-liked Instagram posts within a day of sharing it. In just one hour, the post had already received over 9.2 million likes.

There were even reports that the announcement drew so much attention that it crashed the social media platform for many users.

'Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,' the couple wrote next to several photos of the proposal in a joint post, accompanied by audio of the singer’s song So High School from the anthology version of the album The Tortured Poets Department, which is said to have been written about her fiancé.

Fans instantly went into a frenzy of excitement - the woman whose music they grew up listening to, whose lyrics helped them heal during times of hardship and heartbreak, is finally getting her happy ever after.

Reshares upon reshares and reposts of the post could be seen each time users opened the Instagram app, with people offering their congratulations for the couple and sharing their sheer excitement.

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It wasn’t long until the corporates stepped in and took advantage of the virality of the special moment.

Deals and advertisements were using memes of the pair, many of which also went viral for their creativity and quick response to the news.

Companies running the gamut from the Cheesecake Factory, Whataburger and Pillsbury to Southwest Airlines, Scrub Daddy, and Invisalign seized the moment with self-referential posts, photoshops and captions.

Shake Shack appeared to tease the arrival of onion rings on its menu, while Hershey's Chocolate World advertised its wedding-ready bulk bags of kisses.

Some brands went a step further, celebrating everlasting love with special deals.

Closer to home, An Bróg in Cork city posted a photo of the pair’s engagement with the text ‘Me’ appearing over Kelce and ‘Pints in the Bróg’ appearing over Swift and the caption: “There's only one way to celebrate an engagement ... pints tonight in An Bróg”.

Even some well-known photographers jumped on what has almost become a trend in itself, photoshopping themselves into the shots of the moment Kelce took a knee, and photoshopping screengrabs of direct messages to make it look as though Swift had messaged to enquire about their availability for an upcoming wedding.

On Wednesday, Swift and Kelce received a "giant congratulations" from the NFL star's brother and former football player, Jason Kelce, showing his excitement in the latest episode of his and his brother’s New Heights podcast.

Taylor Swift talks about reclaiming her masters, wrapping The Eras Tour, and The Life of a Showgirl on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast corner

”We did record this podcast on Monday, which was Travis's one day off. So he is not here to address this himself, but we felt necessary as a team here at New Heights to get together and send Travis and Taylor a giant congratulations for being engaged,” he said.

A teaser on social media said the latest episode of the podcast would give viewers a "behind-the-scenes look at how our episode with Taylor Swift came together".

It comes after Swift unveiled details of her 12th studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl, on the podcast.

When it comes to theories about the proposal unfolding after the podcast episode premiere, the timeline seems to add up.

Shortly after the news broke about the engagement, Page Six exclusively confirmed that Kelce popped the question “a couple weeks ago” and the duo had been keeping it a secret.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce with Taylor Swift following his sides Super Bowl LVIII victory against the San Francisco 49ers at the Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas in 2024.

Fans were quick to notice that Swift appeared to have indentations in her hair exactly where she was wearing headphones while recording the podcast.

“YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE HEADPHONES INDENTED HER HAIR,” one person claimed in a post on X, showing side-by-side photos of Swift on the podcast and after she said “yes.” 

Eagle-eyed fans also noted that Swift was wearing the same Cartier Santos Demoiselle watch when Kelce asked for her hand in marriage as when she was on the episode.

Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce, told News 5 Cleveland this week that his son had proposed to Swift in a garden with flowers and a gazebo after asking her to go outside for a glass of wine.

“Kinda knew this was going to happen months ago, to be honest with you, at least that was my guess ... probably during last season is when it really became obvious that they were just crazy about each other,” he said.