Memes that wowed- 2023 was a big year for memes as they became a powerful tool for content creators

Memes that wowed: 2023 was a big year for memes as they became a powerful tool for content creators

Memes on social media are addictive and fun. Some have been so eccentric and relatable to pop culture that they won our hearts this year because of high entertainment quotient or caught maximum attention on social media, giving huge exposure to content creators.

For instance, the ‘so beautiful, so elegant, just looking like a wow’ was a punch line constantly used by Delhi-based Jasmeen Kaur, who runs a fashion boutique in New Delhi, on her Instagram Live sessions.

There were many other most searched memes of 2023 on social media: Bhupendra Jogi, Moye Moye, Khatti Toffee… all thanks to their eccentric content.

Bhupendra Jogi is the most searched meme in India this year, according to Google’s ‘Year in Search 2023’ list. The Jogi meme traces back to November 2018 when a man who claimed better roads in Madhya Pradesh as compared to the US, became an instant hit for his candid hilarious chat. Moye Moye has been all over the internet for its music and dance memes, which is originally the chorus of the song Džanum by Serbian singer-songwriter Teya Dora, which has over 65 million views on YouTube. Dora sings Moye More in the song, but the words are mistaken for ‘moye moye’. The song originally is about longing, pain and rejection.

Another meme, ‘aayein’, is an expression that means ‘what?’ became viral after an interview with a sixth-grade student named Aditya Kumar from Bihar. When the reporter asked Kumar about his favourite subject, he responded with ‘ayein’. When the reporter repeated the question, Aditya answered ‘baigan’. The Elvish bhai, the smurf cat, khatti toffee, mera naam priya hai aur main van mein rehti hun, the bald witch, also known as the ‘ganji chudail’ were some other popular memes this year.

In February this year, a mysterious Chinese balloon seen hovering over Montana when the Pentagon suspected it to be a surveillance balloon, while China claimed it was a weather balloon that had lost its way, was also a sensation as online jokes and memes making fun at the bizarre nature of the incident did the rounds on the internet. Films Barbie and Oppenheimer had very different genres but the internet was quick to create funny memes on how both films announced new cast members every other day. X, formerly Twitter, had hilarious jokes, memes, and comparisons of the two extremely different movies with stellar casts and directors. The term ‘Barbenheimer’ also became an internet sensation as both films were released on the same day in July this year.

Brands capitalised the most on meme culture from the advertising point of view. “The culture has been on an upward trend in 2023. With the increase in time spent on social media, memes are now content that allows people to laugh and feel good. It is a key driving force for many content makers and the trend will prosper in 2024 too,” says Himanshu Arora, co-founder of creative marketing & advertising agency, Social Panga.

Meme marketing is a growing distribution channel to reach out to a larger set of audiences, and emphasise specific emotions.

“The humorous nature of memes makes them a powerful tool for marketers and content creators, allowing them to communicate even the most contentious or nuanced themes while diverting any criticism. Memes or any form of fun content is easy to consume and has high rate of shareability. The rise of meme culture has eased content generation for marketers, allowing them to interact with their target demographic, particularly millennials and Gen Z, more smoothly.

It has evolved beyond entertainment from ‘LOL to ROI’ idea. This shows the potential for not only engagement but also monetary rewards from a well-executed meme strategy,” says Kunal Luhar, co-founder & chief business officer of brand solutions firm, 5W1H.