Viral Content Challenge: Part II

Original Goal

The original goal of this campaign was to achieve between 200 and 500 views on Imgur using a meme that was not only currently relevant, but could hopefully be seen as funny by people on the Imgur community. This was achieved by using an absurd meme of the popular character Batman, while highlighting the recent news on the character that he will be portrayed by actor Robert Pattinson in an upcoming film.

Batman Birthday

 

Analysis

This meme likely performed well for two reasons; the first being the tags used. While I did use generic meme tags like “funny” or “lol”, I also made sure to tag “Batman” and “Comic”. These topics are incredibly popular. As of Sunday, November 17th, you’ll find over 6,000 posts tagged in “Batman” and over 12,000 in “Comic”. These tags allowed the meme to get into the target audience; people who would know that a new movie is coming up, that there’s some controversy around whether or not that movie will be any good, and the character himself to drive home the comedy.

When Robert Pattinson was cast to play Batman earlier this year, the decision immediately sparked debate about whether or not the Twilight Actor would do justice to the very famous role, previously portrayed on screen by Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.

Batman’s more recent portrayals have been dark; the caped crusader is often a very serious, calculated and violent character. However, this wasn’t always the case; go back to the 1960’s for Adam West’s Batman or even early comic book issues, and there was a lot of goofiness surrounding what we now know to be the Dark Knight.

Which brings us to the meme. I noted the fact that most of the online Batman community is discussing the upcoming community. From there, I pivoted to a slightly absurd, out of context comic book panel of Batman throwing a cake at what we can presume is a villain. I think I managed to find comedy for the Batman community by proposing that we take a character that is now understood to be extremely serious and find a way for the upcoming film to incorporate this ridiculous, objectively silly moment from the comics.

 

Results:

As of 4:30PM on November 17th;

  • 1,125 Views
  • 17 Points
  • 2 Comments

 

 

 

 

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