Like & Subscribe

It started with likes.

Click here to like.

Your friend liked this, you might too.

Then the "Like Bombs". If you were influential enough, you could launch one of these weapons of mass seduction worth anywhere from 100 - 10,000 likes, depending on your celebrity worth.

By gifting the bomb, this meant that brands/artists/companies could now use your name and image in any of your promotions. Beyonce likes this, you might too. Soon enough, companies started using this irl. Plastering their faces on packaging, shop windows, cars, everything.

If they got over 1 million likes they could officially license the thumbs up icon on their branding. The high street became littered with it. People proudly wore clothing emblazoned with thumbs. It really did save so much time. You didn't need to decide where to shop or eat, what to wear, what to drive, what to watch. All the hard work had been done for you.

Then, of course, came the reality shows. Be the next mega influencer. Get those 10,000 like bombs. If you can see off your rivals and impress Kris Jenner, it's all yours for the taking.

This came to it's logical conclusion with "Fashion Victim". Each week six designers would present their showstopper outfit to Victoria Beckham. She would stalk up and down, perusing each outfit, with her two deliciously camp and bitchy sidekicks, before silently holding out her fist and after an agonising pause, presenting a thumbs up, or thumbs down. It was nail-biting stuff. 

Get a thumbs up and you progress to the next round. Get a thumbs down and a Victoria's Secret supermodel slits your throat. Everyone was talking about it, all rooting for their favourites, and groaning in frustration when arterial spray soaked their finest creations. A shrewd stagehand started selling the crimson rejects online. People paid thousands for them. Never to be worn in public of course, Victoria had made her decision clear on their lack of couture finesse. But they really made a splash at Halloween Parties...