$1 Pancake vs. Priceless Pancake

About

$1 Pancake vs. Priceless Pancake, also known as the Priceless Pancake Slideshow, refers to a viral photo slideshow on TikTok showing a series of AI-generated images that start with the prompt "one dollar pancake," progressing in monetary value until the final prompt "priceless pancake." Originally posted in early January 2024, the slideshow gained numerous reaction videos and memes from creators who portrayed its emotional impact on them.

Origin

On January 3rd, 2024, TikToker^[1] @camrinai posted a slideshow of multiple AI-generated images with each prompt progressing in monetary value from a "one dollar pancake" to a "billion dollar pancake." The progression was similar to the Make It More trend. The final prompt was a "priceless pancake" in which the AI supposedly portrayed a woman making a pancake for presumably her son. The slideshow received over 19.9 million plays and 3.9 million likes in one week (recording shown below).

Spread

After the slideshow's upload, TikTokers and influencers started to react and post memes referencing it. For instance, on January 3rd, 2024, TikToker^[2] @tiktokpj posted a video that portrayed him swiping through the photos and becoming more emotional, gaining over 18.1 million plays and 2.4 million likes in one week (shown below, left).

On January 5th, 2024, TikToker^[3] @matcrackz posted a similar reaction video, receiving over 14.3 million plays and 1.6 million likes in six days (shown below, right).

As the slideshow became well-known on the platform, parodies started to emerge. For instance, on January 10th, 2024, TikToker^[4] @signal.ai posted a seemingly ironic video about a "priceless haircut," gaining over 145,400 plays and 11,200 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References