No memes no! Are Marketing Strategists Just Getting Lazy?
We have all seen it. Memes sneaking into mainstream media; its like watching mom trying the floss dance. Its cute but it’s immediately uncool and discarded. Why are ads so desperate for our attention that they ruin many valuable memes shared between close friends? It speaks to the buying power of Millennials. Marketing departments rub their greedy hands together and strategize a plan to get us to buy their product. Don’t they know once the meme hits television its over? Its like dad singing lyrics to “bad boujee,” nobody wants to see that! But then again, in this topsy turvy world, some of the most iconic memes were inspired by the advertisements. In that case, its like that really cool vintage broach mom has in her jewelry box; and now it’s yours. I guess we take some and we lose some. But let’s try to make sense of epidemic taking all our good memes. This has got to stop. ( but it wont, just like the parental units)
So first, let’s examine.
Who told the marketing strategists that memes are the way to speak to the millenial heart? The more popular and relatable the meme, the more shares and engagement it gets. Someone in the ads company cracked the code and eureka! They found an inexpensive platform that engages and connects to their target demographic. I’m just going to come out and say it, millenials are now the cool kids on the global playground,been calling the consumer shots (currently) around here and ads want to be “in the know” so they find ways, i.e. precious memes, gifs, hashtags, and dance crazes to have brand relevance. You can now see your favorite instagram influencer on a Sprite commercial.
But on the flip side…
Anybody remember the “ Kermit sipping tea” meme? of course you do! It’s the Mona Lisa of memes. A meme was not a meme before Kermit sipping tea. The versatility in“Minding your own business” was robust and that Lipton sipping kermit paired well with any caption imaginable. Well news flash; That was a commercial advertisement. It actually didn't gain popularity during its actual air time. It was a year later, which is how millennials roll. We let things age and become refined. Like all memes, it ran its course and has been let go. The root of some memes come from commercials, but usually not for its original purpose of selling a product. Memes are there to make us laugh. Dare I say memes are shared to escape for a minute. A shared connection with your friend because you know seeing this meme is going to make them laugh. SO LAY OFF ad companies, get out of our rooms and ruining everything! Gosh.
