2021 on the Open Web: Outbrain Trends

As we kick off 2022, we decided to take a look back at the topics and people that were trending on the open web in 2021. While COVID-related information and coverage in Afghanistan dominated the news, escapism was essential. Consumers devoured entertainment, celebrity gossip, and action-packed sports content online. Marvel maintained dominance with Eternals and Loki topping page views for movies and TV shows respectively while the top trending actor (Alec Baldwin) and athlete (Tiger Woods) made headlines for tragedies off-screen and off the course.

Technology continues to drive engagement, particularly brands in the cryptocurrency, social, and streaming spaces. And top headlines were more about the content with shorter, direct descriptors and teasers capturing attention. 

Here’s a snapshot of top names and hot topics we saw within our network in 2021. Subjects and names were identified based on global page views and click through rates on Outbrain’s platform. 

Want to leverage Outbrain data for your campaigns? Check out our up-to-date open web trends at the BrainPower site.