Are the Beckhams shooting for the Kardashians' crown?

Thirst traps, roasting each other and lifestyle porn... I see what you're up to David and Victoria

As they sipped champagne and waved sparklers in the private dining room that overlooks the kitchen of chef Clare Smyth’s Core restaurant in Notting Hill, David and Victoria Beckham had a lot to celebrate with their family on New Year’s Eve. 2023 was a banner year for their businesses… and for their personal PR.

Their biggest professional triumph was the Netflix documentary series Beckham. Released in October, the star-packed retrospective of David’s life and career in top flight football was a hit. As the four-parter racked up tens of millions of views it reminded us why we were so obsessed with them in the 90s, delighted us with David’s wholesome new life as a part-time beekeeper and reacquainted us with Victoria’s dry wit revealing how wonderfully unserious she is. As

Amy Odell

noted in her piece Victoria Beckham Is the True Star of the Netflix 'Beckham' Doc, the woman formerly known as Posh Spice, stole the show.

It’s worth flagging that the Netflix series was designed to portray the Beckhams in a glowing light. It was made by David’s production company, Studio 99, produced by Nicola Howson, a director across the Beckham’s multiple businesses and its executive producers were David Gardner and Gary Neville, aka his best mates.

Whether the show was an accurate portrayal of their lives or not its success provided them with an opportunity. And boy have they seized it, leaning in hard to the wave of positivity around their romantic relationship, family and work, amping up their social media content and output to such a degree it screams **vibe shift**.

Since the broadcast they are putting themselves out there so much, and in ways that pull fans in closer to their lives, that it’s got me wondering whether they’re publicly pitching for a reality show, or at the very least hoping they can broaden their appeal to a new audiences online. Their new strategy reeks of the Kardashian’s more-is-more approach to social content, whether that means turning a viral moment into a money maker, clapping back, posting thirst traps or taking followers on family vacations via slickly edited TikTok recap videos. Oh and Victoria has got seriously horny. Let’s take a look at all the ways they’ve upped their social game since the docu-series dropped…

Owning the meme

The Beckhams have used both arms to embrace the Be Honest. Thank You. meme. It emerged when David called out Victoria’s deluded claims that she was working class by revealing she was driven to school in a Rolls-Royce in a viral scene from the show.

First Victoria made and sold a £110/$140 tee shirt via her eponymous fashion label Victoria Beckham with the slogan MY DAD HAD A ROLLS-ROYCE written on it.

Then just last week David roasted her on Instagram after they went to The Ritz with her parents for lunch, and noted that his in-laws drove home in their, wait for it, Rolls-Royce. To further prove his point that they are from different backgrounds he also posted that he’d had lunch with his mum in her kitchen and included a picture of him doing the dishes afterwards.

Welcome to the family

The Beckhams have rarely restrained themselves on social media, often posting personal snapshots, but they are revealing much more of their lives and those of their children, and often in a more intimate ways.