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A Deep Dive into the Internet Meme

by: @MDGadvertising A DEEP DIVE INTO THE INTERNET MEME DISSECTING THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE INTERNET MEME WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE BEST AND WORST MEMES FROM 2012 In the past year, memes have grown, evolved, and expanded in reach and usage. Many of the most viral memes appeared in response to serious issues in politics and business around the country and, in some cases, the world. News organizations observed the power of memes, discussing their influence as their popularity rose. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary even included the word in its 2012 Words of the Year list. But how do memes originate and go viral, and why are memes dominating the Web and popular culture? We examine four of the most popular memes from 2012 to see how they did it. KONY 2012 When the nonprofit organization Invisible Children uploaded its Kony 2012 video to YouTube, the filmmakers already had a strategic social media and sharing plan in place. To spread the word about African war criminal Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, the organization's website contained clickable images of 20 specific celebrities and 12 policy-makers along with instructions to contact them via Twitter regarding the Kony 2012 campaign. KONY 2012 STOP AT NOTHING "THE MOST VIRAL VIDEO IN HISTORY." - MASHABLE SOCIAL MEDIA STRONGHOLD Celebrities who felt compelled to react to Kony 2012 and spread the word about the video to their followers through Twitter included: In a day, the video's total view skyrocketed, and it continued to do so. 100,000,000 VIEWS OPRAH RYAN SEACREST 9 000.000 VIEWS MESSAGE NOW MESSAE NOw 66.000 VIEWS JUSTIN BIEBER TAYLOR SWIFT DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 MESSAGE NOW MESSAGE NOW Invisible Children considered young adults who share content as its audience for the video and targeted them accordingly through social media. Within the first week, there were: IHeard a lot IHeard a little IHeard nothing 5,000 TWEETS ON AGED 18-29 AGED 30-49 AGED 50-64 AGED 65* 40% 20% 18 296 76 MILLION VIEWS ON 186 37% 42% 52% 43% WHY IT FAILED Though heavily shared, the meme is considered a failure. The video tied in with the "Cover The Night" campaign, a daylong event of community service and Kony marketing. Turnout was very disappointing, due to a growing backlash of controversy. Notoriety of Kony 2012 led to: Critics lamenting that the video The public discovering that only 37% of Invisible Children's budget was directed to Director Jason Russell being hospitalized after a glosses over much of Uganda's history and simplifies a very complicated situation. 37% "temporary psychotic breakdown." programs in Africa MCKAYLA IS NOT IMPRESSED After American Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney fell during her second vault and received a silver medal in the competition, she stood on the award platform with an icy stare, pursed lips, and folded arms. The look went viral, as a Photoshopped image of McKayla began popping up online in pictures of important historical moments and famous works of art. THE RISE OF AN OLYMPIC MEME FAMOUS FACES ALSO UNIMPRESSED AUG 5 Maroney makes face on camera at the Olympics. Buzzfeed posts "McKayla Maroney Falls, Lets Out Her Inner 'Mean Girl," which picks up 170,000 views in 48 hours. AUG 6 170,000 The Tumblr blog titled McKayla is Not Impressed is t created, and sites such as Mashable and What's Trending discuss the meme's creation and continue to spread AUG 7 awareness. > President Obama NASA'S Mars Rover Team The Woll Street Journal calls Unimpressed McKayla "the Olympics' first breakout meme." AUG 8 AL Roker BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN After being considered victor of the first 2012 U.S. presidential debate, Mitt Romney closed the gender gap among voters and was poised for a comeback. THE COMEBACK GAFFE During the second presidential debate, however, Romney used the now-infamous phrase when discussing pay equity during his governorship. Jokes and parodies hit social media within minutes of the comment, which was then extensively covered by the media the next day. Considering the public's immediate response, many credited the meme with sparking the women's rights discussion on the campaign trail. THEY BROUGHT US WHOLE BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN. ROMNEY HOW IT SPREAD: MEME MASHUPS: After Romney makes the comment, it immediately goes viral on Facebook, Twitter, OCT 16 amazon YouTube, and Tumblr. People begin posting ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY related parody reviews of actual binders on Amazon. The Tumblr has more than 11,000 followers, while the related Twitter account gains more than 32,000 followers. Many news outlets FILL BINDERS WITH WOMEN OCT 17 discuss the meme, including Time, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and NPR. BINDERS FULLOF WOMEN, EH? Romney still uses binders? LOL The "Binders Full Of Women" fan page on Facebook grows to 343,000 likes. OCT 18 HIRING PROCESS MR ROMNET GANGNAM STYLE Korean pop artist Psy dominated pop culture around the world with "Gangnam Style" for several reasons, including the: CATCHY BEAT OPEN-FOR-TRANSLATION LYRICS 강남 소 타일 OVER-THE-TOP MUSIC VIDEO EASY-TO-DO DANCE SINGER'S CHARMING PERSONALITY INTERNATIONAL INCOME GETTING & SETTING RECORDS Psy's video catapulted him from Korean to international stardom, and he and his record company pulled in about $4 million dollars of the over $8 million generating for YouTube with online Despite his success, and thanks to comparisons to the '90s hit "Macarena, even Psy himself said that he hopes to "end the song" soon. It's no wonder "Gangnam Style" became the year's biggest meme that everyone loved to hate. $8 MILLION MILLION Psy and His Record Company Online Advertising Deals advertising deals. MILESTONES OF THE MEGA-HIT VIDEO: WHAT IT SPAWNED: THE "GANGNAM STYLE" MUSIC VIDEO IS RELEASED. Reaction videos Parody videos Dance mobs 1 BILLION VIEWS 870 MILLION VIEWS POPULAR PARODIES: 622 MILLION VIEWS 345 MILLION VIEWS OREGON 90 MILLION VIEWS Gandalf Style Navy Gangnam Style University of Oregon Style JUL 15 AUG 1 SEP 1 OC 1 NOV 1 DEC 1 DEC 21 "THE MINDSET OF THIS DANCE IS DRESS CLASSY AND DANCE CHEESY." - PSY EXPECT MEMES тO GET EVEN BIGGER IN 2013. SOURCES: KNOWYOURMEME.COM, MTV.COM, TIME.COM, FORBES.COM, BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, NYTIMES.COM, LATIMES.COM, CBSNEWS.COM, mdgadvertising.com twitter: @MDGadvertising PEWINTERNET.ORG, BILLBOARD.BIZ, ADWEEK.COM, ABCNEWS.COM

A Deep Dive into the Internet Meme

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Internet memes are cultural ideas that spread virally throughout the Web. In 2012, these Internet pop culture snippets rapidly rose in popularity and power as they captured the moments that got everyo... ne talking, tweeting, mocking, and rocking. To recall the most memorable memes of the year, MDG Advertising developed an entertaining infographic featuring the four Internet memes that took over the Web and the world. It offers a look at the photos and videos that caught our attention and explains why these moments became iconic images of our time. Check out MDG’s infographic to see the year’s Internet memes that made laughable, lovable, and lasting impressions. One of the most widespread memes was the Kony 2012 social media sharing blitz. For this viral video campaign, the Invisible Children nonprofit organization posted a video promoting the capture of the notorious war criminal Joseph Kony and urged viewers to spread the word to certain celebrities and political powerhouses via Twitter. This sparked a spike in total video views to reach 9 million in a single day and hit 100 million in less than a week to set a new record for the most viral online video. Since young adults were the target audience, social media proved to be the perfect way to reach and resonate with this market. While the campaign gained massive attention, the meme was ultimately deemed unsuccessful due to rampant criticism and controversy. The infographic also features the famous face of McKayla Maroney, the United States Olympic gymnast whose scowl over her Silver medal on the award platform became one of the most mocked memes of the year. Her grimace during a moment of glory spread through the Web like wildfire and inspired countless Photoshopped images of her face inserted into iconic photos, as well as hilarious Halloween costumes and personal comparisons by other famous faces. Then, the infographic goes on to recall Mitt Romney’s campaign-changing comment regarding his “binders full of women.” In the second presidential debate, the candidate made a huge gender gaffe with an offhand remark about pay equity during his time as governor. Moments after uttering that fateful phrase, the Web was flooded with parodies and the comment was quickly picked up by the mainstream media. It was found comical by some and condescending by others, but it ultimately stifled the momentum that was driving Romney’s rapid comeback and became known as a major meme of the campaign. Of course, the infographic had to spotlight the “Gangnam Style” music video by Korean artist Psy. Its goofy visuals and catchy dance moves completely charmed audiences and became a pop culture phenomenon worldwide. The video catapulted Psy from Korean singer to global superstar. In addition to reaching one billion views over five months, the Internet meme received the Guinness World Record for the most liked video on YouTube, earned around $8 million for Psy last year, and spawned numerous parodies that made the Internet meme a mainstream marvel. From these four unforgettable moments of 2012, it’s clear that Internet memes have become the modern-day way of capturing the pop culture sensations of our time. With the Web gaining more and more influence in our lives every day, 2013 holds the promise of many more memes that will get people sharing, smiling, singing, and scoffing at the Internet images that instantly become icons. To learn more about the power of integrating infographics into your digital marketing strategy, contact MDG Advertising today at 561-338-7797 or visit http://mdgadvertising.com.