Dissecting a Meme: Why is Grumpy Cat Popular?
If it wasn’t clear from all the SXSW coverage, the real celebrity of the annual Austin festival was #GrumpyCat. In the face of Al Gore, Green Day, Selena Gomez, Deadmau5 and, next weekend, Justin Timberlake, the perpetually cranky cat demonstrates that a macro meme can achieve cult-like stardom outside of the digital world.
Clearly this cat is onto something. Though Grumpy Cat achieved her status as a meme thanks to the cat-friendly and internet-savvy forum of Reddit, there are attributes to this meme that contemporary marketers and publicists cannot ignore.
- Easy to consume
Grumpy Cat was born five months ago in the form of a static image with just a few words that were quickly read and understood. Consumers did not have to labor over high system requirements to view the image nor did they need a great deal of context to understand the message.
- Relatable
Grumpiness is an emotional feeling that we’ve all encountered and understand. Grumpy Cat creates a scenario or feeling that we can easily identify with and epitomizes it to comedic effect.
- Funny
Grumpy Cat is entertaining because she is funny. It’s this element of humor that usually acts as an impetus for us to share her with others.
- Creates a form of elitism
Through a community of shares, #GrumpyCat has become a sort of language of its own. Those who have experienced Grumpy Cat can make a #GrumpyCat reference to others who speak the same lingo.
In my next blog post I’ll discuss strategies for effective meme-jacking. In the meatime, do you think there viral qualities behind Grumpy Cat contributed to her fame? Let us know in the comments below.