Twitter’s #GIFparty: The good, the bad and the ugly

A hot hashtag is a clarion call for social media managers — one barely gains traction before brands glom onto it, for better or worse.

That’s exactly what happened when Twitter started a #GIFparty Wednesday night to promote a new feature, which lets people add GIFs to any tweet. By Thursday, the party was out of hand: The hashtag#GIFparty has been used over 80,000 times, according to social analytics firm Brandwatch.

Ellen DeGeneres, Domino’s, Denny’s and Coca-Cola were just a few that shared their favorite GIFs with the #GIFparty hashtag. Here’s the good, bad and the ugly.

The Good

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen was so blown away with Twitter’s latest feature she did a spit-take. And given that her tweet netted over 1,700 retweets and 9,000 likes, so were her fans. 

Game of Thrones
The HBO series’ sixth season bows next month, and its fans are clearly in party mode. Who better than Tyrion Lannister to toast occasion? 

GoPro
Everyone knows that cats and dogs make the best GIFs. GoPro upped the ante with a daredevil cat skateboarding toward three befuddled dogs.

Axe
If you’re going to show up late to a party, do it in style: With backflips and sweet dance moves.

The Bad

PayPal
What do cats have to do with mobile payments? Nothing! Bonus points for making this horrible GIF is seizure-inducing to boot.

Denny’s
If Denny’s isn’t on the latest viral hashtag, something is really wrong with the world. Calm down, Denny’s, four posts for the #GIFparty are a tad much, even for you.

Domino’s
This fractal pizza is making us nauseous, not hungry.

The Ugly

Cambria Quartz
We feel you, Cambria. It’s hard to keep up with Internet hashtags and parties. But we’re not quite sure why a countertop company is talking about coffee.

Coca-Cola
That’s a lot of enthusiasm for a fake party, Coke. Not everything qualifies as an opportunity to “open happiness.”

Yoplait
Not even sure if this is an actual GIF, or a high schooler’s graphic design project.

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