Memes have become an entertaining cultural phenomenon that has spread beyond the Internet. Now it’s not so unusual to see savvy brands and marketers using memes in ad campaigns to show that they are hip in Web culture.
Check out these five examples of memes that made it into ads. Share any other good ones we missed in the comments.
1. Y U NO Guy
A startup with a sense of humor, Hipchat used the popular “rage comic” meme Y U NO guy on a billboard in San Francisco. According to Techcrunch, search traffic for Hipchat went up 300 percent after the billboard went up. Looks like memes work.
2. Grumpy Cat
Internet-famous cat Tardar Sauce, whom you all know as “Grumpy Cat,” made her way onto an anti-drinking PSA billboard. Tardar Sauce’s owners have filed for a trademark for all things Grumpy Cat, so it’s unclear what will happen to the ad and Elizabeth Forward High School, which paid for the student-designed ad to promote the message of not drinking at prom.
3. Chuck Norris
Besides his “Walker Texas Ranger” fame, Chuck Norris experienced an Internet renaissance as a popular meme called “Chuck Norris facts,” which involve exaggerated, funny statements about Norris’ manliness and strength. In an awesomely Web-nerdtastic move, Blizzard Entertainment used Chuck Norris in a TV spot for its popular game World of Warcraft.
4. Success Kid
“Success Kid” really did reach success by making it into an ad. Virgin Media used the adorable and funny Success Kid meme on billboards in the U.K. to promote its HD channel offerings.
5. Honey Badger
Wonderful Pistachios has gotten into using memes and other pop culture figures in its TV spots, but one of the nut brand’s first meme ads was this one featuring the honey badger meme. Other Wonderful Pistachios meme ads include one with keyboard cat and, most recently, one with Korean popstar Psy and his viral hit dance song “Gangnam Style.”
-
‘Show we’re listening’: Why agencies are lending office furniture, offering WiFi stipends to employees as new pandemic-era perks
With a hybrid reality in the offing, rethinking perks to include ways to make working from home better for employees has become a focus for leaders.
-
‘Shopping patterns will feel longer and flatter’: Gap’s CMO on preparing for holiday campaigns
Mary Alderete on the upended marketing calendar and Gap’s plans to lean into the extended holiday season this year.
-
‘Race to deliver’: Pernod Ricard CMO Pam Forbus on a new anti-hate speech initiative and how the coronavirus changed the company’s marketing
Like many marketers, Forbus had to figure out what to do about the Facebook boycott as well as how to pivot the alcohol giant's marketing amid the coronavirus.
-
SponsoredHow artificial intelligence and machine learning power content-first newsrooms
By Chris Nguyen, executive vice president, marketing at Naviga Digital is no longer just a nice addition to a newspaper’s success, but an imperative. While print remains a key source of revenue — capturing both subscriptions and advertising — spending too much time on designing and managing printed editions has become an obstacle to digital transformation. […]
-
As YouTube adopts new standards, the transition from brand safety to suitability is accelerating
YouTube is currently working on a brand suitability fix based on standards defined by the Global Alliance of Responsible Media.
-
Bridging AI to agility, empathy and purpose will accelerate marketing’s deep consumer and client relationships
IBM CMO sees important links between technology like artificial intelligence and natural language processing with human management traits.
