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Memevertising Memevertising [/miːmvətaɪzɪŋ/] refers to the act of using a meme to advertise a product, a service or an idea. It can be considered a form of viral advertising[1]DefinitionMemevertising is a portmanteau[2] composed by the words “meme” and “advertising”.

The term “meme” is derived from hard sciences[3]. A meme is any idea, behaviour, or skill that can be transferred from one person to another by imitation[4]. In the context of memevertising, it alludes to the concept of “internet meme”.

The word “advertising” refers, instead, to that part of marketing that, using a paid communication, aims to "persuade someone to buy a product or service of an identified sponsor"[5].

Given that viral marketing is "any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence"[6], memevertising can be considered one of the promotion tool of this kind of marketing.

HistoryIn the form we know it today, advertising started in the Seventeenth century[7] and evolved over the decades. The advent of the Internet – and particularly of the social networks – has changed the way we communicate and, as a consequence, advertising itself. Today, consumers can easily interact with each other and with the brands, expressing themselves with comments and ratings, but – above all – they are presumably more able to choose and control the media they consume. Therefore, they can be considered more interactive and powerful than they were in the past[8]. Hence, for advertisers is not enough to force a message in front of an audience, but they should take advantage of marketing pieces that are memorable and attention-grabbing like Internet memes.

It is important to note that the colloquial use of the term meme is different from the traditional, scientific construct. The term "meme" comes from the Greek word mimēma (ed. that which is imitated).

The neologism was first introduced in 1967 by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene”. According to Dawkins evolution is based on replication. In this connection, Susan Blackmore suggested that – like the gene – because of its characteristics[9] a meme can be considered a replicator[10]. Consequently, every human is a meme machine[11], a vehicle for propagation, an opportunity for replication and a resource to compete for. Therefore, studying the memes could be useful in order to understand cultural evolution.

Memes' identification in the web can be reconducted to 1994, when Mike Godwin wrote an article on Wired using the term in the context of internet culture[12].

Internet memesAn Internet meme is a tool (an image, a video or a piece of text, often characterized by a humoristic tone) that spreads rapidly and endemically among Internet users[13].

There are several types of internet memes that can be used in advertising, the most common ones are:

- photo meme: a picture showing someone imitating a position or action that is popular or familiar. Some examples[14] are planking (a person lying face down with their arms to the sides in unusual public spaces[15]), tebowing (a position that involves getting down on one knee, placing one’s elbow on the knee and fist against the forehead; the name come from the Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow which was photographed in this position in 2010[16]), and owling (that is a variation of planking, involving a person sitting in a position similar to the one of an owl[17]);

- video meme: it consists in dubbing popular videos or changing their sound[18];

Example -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6trOrZoOyos

- image macro: it is an image superimposed with text, mostly written using Impact font (also known as “the meme font”[19]). The choice of the font is not random, Impact is very befitting due to its linearity and simplicity that make text easy to read and remember. This kind of meme is different from a photo meme because the employed image is already popular online and the superimposed text (mostly a quotation) is slightly different from the original. Vice versa, it can also be possible to find familiar text with a slightly different image. The concept of “image macro” presumably first appeared in 2004 on Something Awful website[20];

- word meme: it can be a word or a phrase that become popular online (ex. twitter hashtag)[21];

- miscellaneous marketing meme: in some cases brands stimulate the creation of user generated contents. In fact, they often ask their loyal fans (or potential new ones) to engage in an activity and take a picture of themselves while doing it. The fans are also encouraged to add their own personal touch to the original posture[22].

- reaction image: it is an image or animated gif that is meant to portray a specific emotion in response to something that has been said. Reaction images are commonly used in discussion threads in a similar fashion to emoticons[23].

The use of internet memes in advertisingAs corporate communication begins to follow the audience's consumption patterns, companies have shown an increased interest in exploiting Internet memes in their campaigns[24]. According to Sax, memes can be considered as advertising assets for brands “because, like celebrities, they have an audience that recognizes and appreciates them”[25]. The concept of “communities” is very important, indeed most memes “might sound nonsensical to those unfamiliar with internet culture, they do have meaning and purpose to those [communities] they inhabit”[26].

Talking about the use of internet memes in advertising, the first classification that has to be made is between memejacking and memescaping: the former is the most common approach and involves a brand using an already existing and popular meme[27], the latter involves the creation of a brand-new meme[28].

The fact that a meme is already viral is the fundamental feature for marketers that want to take advantage of an idea that is already successful[29].

Memejacking: some case studiesThe case of Italian discount stores

The Italian discount store chains Eurospin and MD decided to use memevertising on social networks, in particular on Facebook.

For example, on February 6th 2017, Eurospin posted a meme that made reference to the 2016 American presidential election. The image had the typical format of a diffused meme: three crowds compared one with the other[30].

Then, on March 2017, Eurospin proposed another meme with a very standard format: the so called "starter pack" meme. The meme was accompanied by hashtags that reported some "slang" expressions[31].

On August 11th 2017 MD published an image macro representing a cat accompanied by an ambiguous sentence. The focus, in order to understand the double meaning, is on the word "pasta": pasta is an aliment sold in the discount store but this word, in Italian, can also refer to ecstasy. The expression of the cat portrayed is essential to led the user to think about drugs. Another strong element that led one to believe that they are talking about drugs is the fact that the company is called MD, casually, an abbreviation for "MDMA". The description of the image strengthen the concept[32].

On September 2017, MD posted a very diffused meme representing one boy and two girls. The boy admires another girl while holding the hand of his girlfriend. MD discount store is meant to be the single beautiful girl[33].

On October 2017, riding the wave of the fast diffusion of the image, MD presented its version of a meme based on three different pictures of a seagull[34].

Huawei

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a Chinese telecommunication giant.

On the occasion of 2017 device releases, the Italian branch advertised company's products on Facebook and Twitter. They used memetics (or memes), making frequent reference to contemporary culture.

For the Huawei P8 lite 2017 Italian release, the brand used one of the most common internet meme: “Keep calm and carry on” meme[35]. This meme refers to a catchphrase that originally appeared on a World War II-era British public safety poster[36]. The same meme was used to launch a video contest in 2017 (trova data)[37].

Another kind of popular internet meme jacked by the Chinese brand – on the occasion of the launch of Huawei P8 Lite – is the “not you” meme[38]. The text refers to one of the most important virtues of the item (the fast charge) and underlines that the product is better than Apple’s ones. In fact, the English translation of the text is: “thank you for charging the cell phone from 0% to 60% in only 30 minutes” and “not you” (on an apple, an explicit reference to its American competitor). According to KnowYourMeme “Not You / Tú No" is a series of multi-pane image macros in which the author expresses positive sentiments toward eight of the photographs in the image except for the middle one, which has the caption “not you” or “tú no,” excluding them from the compliment”[39].

Gucci

Also Gucci has recently understood the power of internet memes. In fact, according to latest data from Instagram[40], the Italian Maison has been – for the fourth time in a row – the most buzzed about brand of the Milan Fashion week (September 2017)[41]. This success started on March 17th 2017, when – using the hashtag #TFWGucci[42] and playing on the popular meme “That feeling When” – the label debuted its first meme campaign on Instagram[43]. The idea of presenting the “Le Marché Des Merveilles” watch collection with memes (created by artists from all over the world) has been conceived by the creative director Alessandro Michele and attracted considerable media attention[44][45].

Listed below are some examples:

-	William Ndatila’s “When he buys you flowers instead of a Gucci watch” meme.

He captioned the Italian Renaissance painter Agnolo Bronzino’s portrait of Eleonora di Toledo (dated 1560). In the painting, the character is disappointed in the quality of gifts from her potential suitor[46];

-	Christto Sanz and Andrew Weir’s “When he gets mad at you for being 3 hours late but you’re too fire to deal with that kind of attitude” meme.

They introduce us to a mysterious fashionista who holds a flaming rose while she casually checks her Le Marché des Merveilles watch[47];

-	Derek Lucas and Benjamin Langford’s “When your girl doesn’t notice your new watch” meme.

In the picture there is a man who wears a Gucci watch on his wrist and a hold a bunch of flowers in his fist, showing his frustration: his girl did not notice his new watch[48]. The artists reinterpreted the popular Arthur’s fist meme[49].

Furthermore, among the memes used for #TFWGucci campaign, a particular one can be noted:

-	Sebastian Tribbie Matheson’s “The GUCCI Starter Pack” meme.

Adopting the brand’s recent hallmarks (like embroidery, patches, and 70s glasses), the artist wants to represent the stereotype of Gucci fans’ style[50]. It recalls the popular “Starter pack” meme[51].Memes made into billboardsThere are cases in which a company decides to use an internet meme to craft an offline communication.

For example, the group chat application HipChat launched a meme-inspired billboard in San Francisco[52]. The billboard, representing the famed "Y U NO Guy", generated huge public response[53].

Success Kid, a child with a resolute expression, has been portrayed by Virgin on billboards aimed to advertise the HD channels offered by the Group[54].

McDonald's spread some billboards having a meme format in Switzerland. This initiative, as reported by a local news portal, didn't have the success the company expected, because the memes created by the multinational were not so immediate to understand[55].