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Going Viral On TikTok, Lato-Lato Is Hot In Southeast Asia

Jayson 29 Nov 2023 06:37

This year, a toy unexpectedly became popular and set off a trend of "retro toys" in Southeast Asia.
 


Lato-Lato, whose English name is Clackers, was a popular toy in Europe and the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. It was introduced to Southeast Asia in the last century and became a generation's childhood memory. It consists of two plastic balls of various colors strung together on a rope or stick. When the two balls hit each other, they will make a loud "click" sound.
 


At the end of last year, a video of Indonesian President Jokowi playing Lato-Lato circulated on social media, sparking the Lato-Lato trend again. This year, Lato-Lato swept Southeast Asia again and became the most popular toy. Videos of the toy went viral on TikTok in Malaysia, Indonesia and other places.
 


A blogger on TikTok used a video to show off Lato-Lato's new gameplay. The gameplay is simple and the sound is magical. The video reached 2.6 billion views soon after it was released, and has been viewed more than 4 billion times so far. Topics related to this toy can easily gain millions of exposures.



Today, the "click-click" sound of Lato-Lato can be heard in the streets and alleys of many countries in Southeast Asia. One child said: "This is super fun. I play it every day and compete with my friends to see who can play it longer."
 
On TikTok, the number of views of the topic #LatoLato is still rising, and Internet celebrities are rushing to publish novel ways to play with the toys. After Lato-Lato became popular, more and more people viewed videos on topics such as #vintage toy finds (retro toys around them) on TikTok. TikTok Shop Southeast Asian sellers seized on the retro toy trend and ushered in a wave of sales.