Brands jump on latest social meme: sarcastic polls

By Digiday • August 25, 2017 •

A new social media trend has brands talking: sarcastic polls.

Last week, people were spotted tweeting memes that put a humorous spin on personal dating ads. In the majority of these, people poke fun at themselves about what they are searching for. Instead of a man seeking a woman, for instance, one tweeter had a student seeking a parking spot.

It wasn’t long before brands including Denny’s, Totino’s and Penguin Books glommed on:

I am a

⚪️ Man
⚪️ Woman
🔘 Wretched, lonely soul

seeking a

⚪️ Man
⚪️ Woman
🔘 True love with whom to Lady and the Tramp a single pizza roll

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) August 22, 2017

Just a:
⚪ human
⚪ animal
🔘 reader

Looking for:
⚪ food
⚪ friends
🔘 a pause button on life so I can finally catch up on my #!@$%*& TBR list

— Penguin Books USA (@penguinusa) August 24, 2017

Denny’s posted its own version August 22. “We are always looking both online and offline for those popular trending stories and topics that have all of America talking, those fun moments that allow us to naturally join in the conversation with Denny’s unique and genuine brand voice,” said John Dillon, CMO at Denny’s.

i am a:

⚪️ man
⚪️ woman
🔘 dennys

seeking:

⚪️ men
⚪️ women
🔘 meme destruction

— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) August 22, 2017

When a brand interjects itself into popular culture, however, it can become the ultimate buzzkill for some. While the majority of consumer responses to Denny’s tweet were positive, one tweeter posted her own snarky response: “I am a restaurant, seeking customers.”

And when too many brands jump on the bandwagon at the same time, followers notice. Competing diner IHOP posted its own sarcastic meme the same minute as Denny’s. Within four minutes, a tweeter shared a photo of his feed showing IHOP’s tweet directly after Denny’s.

I am a:
⚪ man
⚪ woman
🔘 pancake

Looking for:
⚪ men
⚪ women
🔘 someone to pour syrup on me

— IHOP (@IHOP) August 22, 2017

But brands have seen high engagement when they participate in social media trends. MoonPie, a snack brand with only 14,000 followers on Twitter, got more than 31,900 retweets and 141,000 likes on its poll meme below. And in more than 570 comments, people showed their admiration for the brand and shared their own silly takes on the meme. The brand wasn’t shy about making fun of capitalizing on the trend. “Way too many people were doing the same thing,” said Patrick Wells, a social media creative at agency Tombras Group, who produced the tweet for MoonPie, “so I just decided to make fun of it all. I think most people found it refreshing.”