Paint mixing videos are all the rage on TikTok, where millions of viewers will tune in to see professionals mix paint colors at paint or hardware stores.
But Tony Piloseno, an Ohio University senior who runs the popular paint-mixing account TonesterPaints, says he was fired from his part-time job at a Sherwin-Williams in Athens, Ohio after three years because the company came across his videos.
Tony insisted to BuzzFeed that the videos, some of which rack up over a million views, are a great ‘marketing opportunity’ for the company has accuses them of failing to see their value in attracting a younger base.
Pretty! Tony Piloseno, an Ohio University senior, runs the popular paint-mixing account TonesterPaints
Swish! There, he mixes paint colors and earns millions of views for his most popular clips
Gone! He worked part time at Sherwin-Williams in Athens, Ohio after three years because the company came across his videos and fired him
Mesmerizing: TikTokers like to watch him mix different colors and experiments
Bright ideas? Tony says it was a good marketing opportunity for the company, and tried to pitch it to corporate
Tony said he loved his job at Sherwin-Williams from the beginning, and really loves mixing colors.
‘I really enjoy mixing paint. I like showing what stuff it can do,’ he said.
Though he worked there for three years, it wasn’t until December of 2019 that he started his TikTok channel.
In the beginning, he only filmed videos when he was mixing paint for a customer — but soon he started buying paint with his employee discount to mix specifically for the channel.
While his account grew in popularity, he said he also thought of it as a ‘marketing opportunity for Sherwin-Williams … to show the company how TikTok has a younger base [and] to basically develop brand awareness through TikTok.’
He even tried to go through the proper channels, pitching it to his manager and a sales representative at the store. They ‘loved’ it, he said, and he was told to reach out to the marketing department of the company’s headquarters.
Enjoying it: Tony said he loved his job at Sherwin-Williams from the beginning, and really loves mixing colors
Paid for: In the beginning, he only filmed videos when he was mixing paint for a customer — but soon he started buying paint with his employee discount to mix specifically for the channel
Not into it: Corporate turned down his pitch, but soon investigated what he was doing
![His termination papers accused him of making TikToks during 'working hours and sometimes after work,' as well as 'wasting properties [and] facilities' and 'seriously embarrass[ing] the Company or its products'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/11/19/22/35888124-8967887-image-m-73_1605823574963.jpg)
His termination papers accused him of making TikToks during ‘working hours and sometimes after work,’ as well as ‘wasting properties [and] facilities’ and ‘seriously embarrass[ing] the Company or its products’
‘I emailed [the marketing contact] about two or three times, I even reached out to him on LinkedIn. It took two months to get a response from him,’ Tony said. ‘He basically told me that there wasn’t really any promotions going on so there wasn’t a need to see the presentation.’
After the brush-off, in July, Tony was fired.
His termination papers accused him of making TikToks during ‘working hours and sometimes after work,’ as well as ‘wasting properties [and] facilities’ and ‘seriously embarrass[ing] the Company or its products.’
‘At times in making the videos, you used company tint machines while both on the clock/and off the clock for your personal use,’ the letter said.
‘Upon conclusion of our investigation, it has been determined you are in violation of several gross misconduct policies.’
Speaking to BuzzFeed, a spokesperson for Sherwin-Williams said that the firing came after a ‘customer complaint.’
Apparently, after Tony shared a video mixing blueberries into paint, the company received several inquiries about it and went on to conduct an investigation.
Sad: Tony complained that he never got a a chance to tell his ‘side of the story,’ and fans are outraged on his behalf
Still at it! Tony is still mixing paint and sharing it, only this time it’s in a friend’s basement
Creative: In addition to mixing traditional colors, he has also mixed paint with maple syrup, glitter, raspberries, beer, glow stick liquid, instant coffee, cranberry juice, and vodka
‘They first accused me of stealing — I told them I purchased all my paint,’ he said. ‘They made me answer a bunch of questions like when I was doing this, where, if there was anyone in the store while I was doing [filming]. There was never anyone with me while I doing it.’
Tony complained that he never got a a chance to tell his ‘side of the story,’ and fans are outraged on his behalf.
‘They FIRED YOU?? It’s 2020 and companies still don’t understand the benefit of digital/social marketing,’ wrote one person.
Tony is still mixing paint and sharing it, only this time it’s in a friend’s basement.
In addition to mixing traditional colors, he has also mixed paint with maple syrup, glitter, raspberries, beer, glow stick liquid, instant coffee, cranberry juice, vodka, and bath beads.
Tony is one of quite a few people working in paint and hardware stores that have earned fame on TikTok for mixing paint.
Just delightful! Australian comedian Christian Hull is charming social media users with videos in which he watches paint colors being mixed
Addictive: The Melbourne resident manages to make a seemingly mundane guessing game edge-of-your-seat viewing as he expresses joy and shock over the final outcomes
Duet: Christian does TikToks duet with user @smittenkittensmittens. In a duet, one TikTok user’s original video plays on the right, and a reaction video plays simultaneously on the left
Must see TV! He watches as @smittenkittensmittens mixes custom paint colors and guesses what it will look like when it’s done
Shocker! His suspenseful narration and giddy reactions have earned him a lot of fans
Viewers have fallen in love with how invested he is in the outcome — and they’ve become invest, too
Earlier this year, Australian comedian Christian Hull charmed social media users with a series of videos in which he watches paint colors being mixed — and, with a knack for building suspense, he enthusiastically shares his guesses for what hue the final product will be.
The Melbourne resident manages to make a seemingly mundane guessing game edge-of-your-seat viewing as he expresses joy and shock over the final outcomes.
Guessing what paint color is being mixed seems like a fairly easy and straight-forward game for anyone who went to kindergarten. Red and blue make purple, blue and yellow make green, and so on.
But it turns out the chemistry of mixing pigments for wall paint is much more precise and can have some truly shocking results — and Christian’s reactions to watching it all unfold on screen has TikTok and Twitter users rolling with laughter.
In his first video of the series, Christian does a TikTok duet with user @smittenkittensmittens. In a duet, one TikTok user’s original video plays on the right, and a reaction video plays simultaneously on the left.
‘This is my favorite game to play, you literally just guess what the final paint color’s gonna be,’ he says.
Science: Mixing pigments for wall paint is much more precise and can have some truly shocking results — and Christian’s reactions has TikTok and Twitter users rolling with laughter
‘This is my favorite game to play, you literally just guess what the final paint color’s gonna be,’ he says
Ta-da! In one video, he sees ‘a little yellow, a little white, a handful of blue, and a lot of red’ poured into the paint base and guesses correctly that it will be a light purple
The video shows professional paint mixing equipment, with a bucket of wall paint base slowly being filled with pigments.
Red, blue, white, and yellow pigments pour into the bucket as Christian expresses shock that all the primary colors are being mixed together.
Narrating, he guesses that that the final product will be a ‘really dark brown,’ as @smittenkittensmittens’s video shows the bucket being sealed up and placed in a mixing machine.
When the mixing is done, @smittenkittensmittensopens the paint to reveal a pretty robin’s egg blue color inside — prompting an hysterical laugh from Christian, who doesn’t believe it.
Christian has gone on to upload several more more such videos, which have caught the attention of millions of TikTok users and millions more on Twitter.
In one video, he sees ‘a little yellow, a little white, a handful of blue, and a lot of red’ poured into the paint base and guesses, after much agonizing, that it will turn out a light mauve — and is giddy when he is proven correct.
Mixing: Yet another shows ‘a hint of orange, mostly mustard, and black’ poured into the base, making Christian figure the result will be a ‘poo brown’
What!? When the paint tin is opened, though, the final color is — shockingly — an off-white
‘I just can’t stop. I can’t stop!’ he says in yet another video. ‘This is just such an addictive game!’
Yet another shows ‘a hint of orange, mostly mustard, and black’ poured into the base, making Christian figure the result will be a ‘poo brown.’
When the paint tin is opened, though, the final color is — shockingly — an off-white.
‘I just can’t stop. I can’t stop!’ he says in yet another video. ‘This is just such an addictive game!’
In this one, he sees black, white, yellow, and mustard dye added to the mixture and guesses it’s making pastel yellow.
Again, though, he’s caught off-guard to see a bright neon green when the can is opened.
‘Every time it comes out, it just hasn’t made any sense,’ he says.
What will it be? In another, he sees black, white, yellow, and mustard dye added to the mixture and guesses it’s making pastel yellow
‘Every time it comes out, it just hasn’t made any sense,’ he says
Who could’ve guessed! He’s caught off-guard to see a bright neon green when the can is opened
Viral: Commenters have found the videos funny and charming, calling the videos ‘delightful,’ ‘sooo funny,’ and ‘the most satisfying thing I’ve seen in weeks’
Well done! He guessed the blue color of this paint pretty well
Commenters have found the videos funny and charming, with Vox editor Rebecca Jennings saying her ‘main source of joy is this guy who frantically guesses what color the paint is going to be.’
‘He seems so emotionally engaged with it!’ tweeted Verge editor Russell Brandom.
‘I went from completely disinterested to fully invested in what this paint was going to look like so fast. this guy is amazing,’ added writer Jake Cohen.
Others called the videos ‘delightful,’ ‘sooo funny,’ and ‘the most satisfying thing I’ve seen in weeks.’
Source: Daily Mail
