Another month down - doesn't time fly when we're being snowed in, bulk-buying toilet tissue and remembering times when we could travel down the M62 without expecting to end up sleeping in our cars. February may have flown by in a flurry, but in terms of memes, it left plenty for us to get involved with. With the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics both being contained within the four week period, plus the Kardashians keeping up with their k-antics, February was a stellar month for memeography - perfect for newsjacking for businesses, brands, and agencies. Following on from my January 2018 Twitter Trends post, here are the February 2018 Twitter Trends.
Google Selfie App
The Google Arts and Culture App helps to find famous works of art that match a selfie you submit. While a lot of the results have been uncanny, many have been...well, not.
Super Bowl Kid
RuPaul's Drag Race
Drag has moved from being a part of the counter culture that most people found funny for stag dos and costume nights out to a part of mainstream culture in a heartbeat. You can read up on my hot take on the rise in dragvertising (drag+advertising, duh). As such, RPDR memes have been appropriated into culture and have not disappointed. February gave us a response to almost any scenario in our lives as Thorgy Thor was eliminated from the competition - and one brands could if they had a clever freelance copywriter to show them how to.
The Kardashians
Snapchat
At the start of January, I predicted the downfall of Snapchat. And just call me Nostrajames because stocks fell by billions. That can also be credited to our favourite worst hidden pregnancy since primetime TV used cushions, large handbags, and larger kitchen counters to hide pregnancies in days of yore. Yes, Kylie Jenner tweeted her dismay with Snapchat, which saw stocks plummet. The power of these Kardashian-Jenners, eh. Claire Richards from Steps once tweeted her anger at British Gas and their stock didn't change. Anyway, the Snapchat meme from the month involved Snapchat Maps, used mainly to see if friends really were setting off when they said they were. The meme involved zooming in on an area and then superimposing a comedic video of what may be happening there (once upon a time called Vines).
Left Exit 12 Off Ramp
The Left Exit 12 Off Ramp meme involves a car hastily taking the off ramp exit (12). This has been repurposed by a clever freelance copywriter to list reasons as to why the car may be quickly getting off the road e.g. sales on at (insert business) - or something more clever than that. The meme has been used across the board with 'good decisions' being on the road and 'text from the ex' being on the left exit. You get the idea. Funny.
Wrong Song Comes On...
This one is fairly self-explanatory, but I will explain it myself nonetheless. The meme involves someone risking getting their precious phone wet to skip a song on the playlist. This can be repurposed by a freelance copywriter of say, a fast food takeaway joint, to say something like 'When you get that 50% off pizzas text. Or some other such thing. You'll have to hire me for the BEST ideas.
Finally....The Winter Olympics
My favourite pop culture add from the Olympics was the North Korean cheer-leading team. Not something I expected to be saying beforehand, but their routine was invaded by someone far less enthusiastic, and it helped create a comical video.
Though, joking aside, given the dictatorial regime going down in old NK, perhaps the smiles are not smiles of sporting glory, but smiles of those who know if they don't grin like they mean it, they'll be killed...