I hope you are having a Happy Holiday Season in whatever way you choose.
To honor the holiday in the local tradition I am recycling two posts from last year, for which some readers developed a particular fondness. Both are about memes - the holy grail of product development, PR and advertising. For a concept to become a meme it must be an idea, symbol or practice which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena (thank you Wikipedia).
Consider the popular website LOLCats. Didn't even exist a few years ago and now the "language" created by these friendly felines has permeated water-cooler culture across North America, parts of Europe and elsewhere. In addition, the Cheeseburger Network, who owns the site, has since launched a dozen other equally time-killing websites and is now a multi-million dollar enterprise thanks to their creative (and somewhat silly) CEO.
It takes a certain savvy and no small amount of good luck to generate these cultural phenomena. Some are clearly unintentional - like the popularity of Oolong the bunny, seen here on the left. You may recall this popular photo of Oolong with a pancake (or other items, mostly food based) on his head. I have received this image in way more emails than should be considered socially acceptable. Oolong had his own website and was even written up in the New York Times.
Other memes are the result of an intentional effort, like the aforementioned LOL Cats.
To wit . . .
The first blast-from-the-past-post confirms one of the most recognizable "cultural" icons in the world is actually a meme generated by a multi-national corporation and their desire to sell sugary drinks year-round.
The other shares the origins of a holiday meme which is occasionally dangerous, enjoyed by multitudes, supported by many - though no one really knows why. Here's why.
THE POINT: When creative icons or ideas are communicated well they can evolve into memes - thus generating "earned media" for companies and "15 minutes of fame" for individuals. Neither of which is a bad result.
