Running Head: WHY ADOPTING MEME CULTURE CAN PRODUCE A MORE SUCCESSFUL 1

Why Adopting Meme Culture Can Produce a More Successful Marketing Campaign

Candice S. Varga

Salt Lake Community College

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Media Strategy Director James McCrae (2017) reveals the top strategies that a brand can

use to turn an advertisement into a viral sensation among contemporary consumers. Published in

Forbes,​ “Meme Marketing: How Brands are Speaking a new Consumer Language,” McCrae

(2017) advises marketing strategists to adopt the language of social media. Excluding his first

attempt, McCrae effectively uses appeals to pathos and ethos in his persuasion technique,

presenting a compelling argument for the advantages of meme marketing.

The introduction is meant to appeal to the reader by examining memes in a historical

context using various analogies. This method of logos is used to explain memes as fundamental

in the spread of ideas and culture, and capable of immeasurable influence. However, the author

uses a flawed argument by quoting an unqualified source. He cites the work of a 20th century

evolutionary biologist who coined “meme” as term for genetic inheritance, defined as an idea

that is copied and randomly distributed. In contrast, the memes discussed in the remainder of the

article are reliant on their ability to be endlessly reimagined and shared to a particular consumer

base. The reference does not align with McCrae’s message, it predates the rise of internet memes

by decades and uses the word in a different context. The author commits the fallacy of improper

authority by attempting to persuade his audience using evidence from an inapplicable source and

misrepresenting the information to uphold his argument. McCrae is unsuccessful in his attempt

to relate modern memes to past experiences. However, the remainder of the article effectively

demonstrates how memes influence a vast population through viral communication.

The author adequately uses the logos appeal to persuade his audience. He includes

statistics on social media use to demonstrate how rapidly information is shared, and provides

examples that comprehensively define the concept of a meme and the methods that can be used

to create a popular advertisement. McCrae references successful advertisements that have gone

viral by adopting the type of communication used by young consumers. In one example, he
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explains how the campaign by Dos Equis,"The Most Interesting Man in the World" (McCrae

2017), has created a recognizable image for the brand in the form of a slogan that can be

reimagined endlessly. Using this example, the author reasons that by creating an advertisement

that can be applied to multiple scenarios, the brand is able to continue using the same campaign

to increase their popularity, and the recognizable slogan is able to be recreated by the intended

viewer and shared as a meme to a larger audience of consumers. McCrae effectively uses

reasoning to appeal to his audience, by including researched evidence and real world examples

of popular advertisements that have harnessed the potential of meme marketing, he persuades his

readers to adapt to the language of young consumers and use memes to increase the popularity of

their brand.

McCrae frequently appeals to the emotion of his audience as a strategy of persuasion. He

uses this method throughout the article to enforce the idea that meme marketing is essential to

the success of a brand. The author includes phrases that are intended to make the reader feel as if

they are missing an opportunity by not participating in meme marketing. In explaining the casual

language, humorous exchanges and popular references that circulate social media, McCrae

(2017) states, “They (brands) know that the only way to elicit a better reaction than an eye roll is

to give their audiences an experience tailored for social media.” He insists that smart, successful

brands are tuning their ad campaigns to align with modern consumers, and the use of regular

strategies are disregarded and easily forgotten. McCrae promotes the idea that meme marketing

has been normalized by successful brands, and is the only method that incites a positive reaction

from the new consumer base. He appeals to the emotion of his audience by provoking a desire to

be associated with the accomplished brands that are able to successfully communicate with

young consumers. By using this appeal to pathos, the author effectively persuades his readers to

consider the benefits of incorporating memes into their brand’s marketing strategy.
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McCrae uses different techniques in an attempt to persuade his audience. In the

introduction, he proposes the concept of memes in a historical context, and associates various

instances and cultural phenomena with the spread of information through memes. Regrettably,

the author cites his evidence from an unqualified source, and presents information in an alternate

context. This distracts from the authors original purpose, to highlight the significance of memes

to a society founded on viral communication. Despite this first argument, McCrae is successful

in appealing to both the reason and emotion of his audience. In his appeal to logos, he provides

evidence using statistics and examples of real advertising campaigns that achieved success and

popularity by using meme marketing. As a result of the intentional phrasing used as an appeal to

pathos, the audience feels inspired to keep up with the changing language of the new dominant

consumers and a desire to flourish along with the intelligent brands who utilize social media.

McCrae effectively applies these techniques, and is successful in providing a thoughtful

argument that persuades his audience to use meme marketing to turn their brand into a prominent

force on social media.

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References

McCrae, J. (May, 2017) Meme Marketing: How Brands Are Speaking A New Consumer

Language. Retrieved from ​https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil

/2017/05/08/meme-marketing-how-brands-are-speaking-a-new-consumer-language/#27a

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