Instagram egg: Hulu clip reveals social media sensation was mental health advert all along

The cracking egg symbolises the pressure of social media

Clémence Michallon
New York
Monday 04 February 2019 00:21 EST
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Instagram egg was mental health advert all along

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The meaning of the mysterious Instagram egg – which has captivated 10 million followers over the course of a month – has finally been revealed.

Hulu published a 30-second clip on Sunday after the Super Bowl, explaining the purpose of the social media sensation.

As it turns out, the Instagram egg was the subject of a mental health advert warning about the pressures of social media.

The ng egg made headlines in January when it became the world’s most popular Instagram post, overtaking the previous record set by Kylie Jenner. It has since received a whopping 52 million likes.

“Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram,” reads the caption next to the original post.

Other publications have since followed. The photos, which were posted without a caption, show the egg with more and more prominent cracks.

Finally, a fifth post teased a post-Super Bowl reveal on Sunday, which was eventually unrolled on Hulu.

The video features an animated egg slowly cracking as a caption reads: “Hi, I’m the world_record_egg. (You may have heard of me.)

“Recently I’ve started to crack.”

At this point, the egg completely breaks as it explains it has been affected by the “pressure of social media”.

“If you’re struggling too talk to someone,” the caption states as the egg becomes whole again.

The video then advertises Mental Health America, a non-profit based in Alexandria, Virginia.

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“We’d like to thank #TalkingEgg for shining a limelight on #mentalhealth tonight with an important message,” the organisation tweeted.

“Not everyone chooses to #fightintheopen for mental health, but you did for the one in five Americans living with a mental health condition.”

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