Meme Marketing: 15 Hilarious Meme Examples To Test for Your Brand

Our experts have scoured the web and found the best examples of meme marketing.

1. Netflix

Netflix is seemingly one of meme marketing’s biggest fans, with the online streaming service frequently posting funny memes related to its latest releases and popular shows.

Netflix has tons of visual content it can make the most of and often starts meme trends by creating new memes related to shows that are already causing a buzz online.

The key takeaway from Netflix’s use of meme marketing is the way the brand creates memes that its audience can relate to and will therefore share – in this case, the age-old dilemma of eating out when you have food at home…

2. Wendy’s

Fast food giant Wendy’s has made an online name for itself thanks to the brand’s unique approach to social media.

The brand has focused its online attention on Twitter (now known as X) and built a reputation for sassy, verging on offensive, tweets, and memes. This is a good example of picking a social platform that suits your brand’s personality, tone, and audience. Wendy’s LinkedIn page, for example, is much more “professional” than its Twitter – choosing the right platform for your meme marketing is a wise first step!

Wendy’s took the popular Spiderman meme and turned it into something that related to their own branding and business, which is critical to meme marketing success. Your memes need to relate back to your brand. 

3. KFC

Timing is everything when it comes to meme marketing and KFC showed that it knows exactly that, when it jumped on the Godzilla v Kong trend when it was at its peak.

The brand took the opportunity to not only jump on a viral trend for maximum exposure but also to take a sly dig at its main competitors, Burger King and McDonald’s.

The viral post back in 2021 ended up with over 120K retweets, stats that can’t be scoffed at.

4. Ruka Hair

The best examples of meme marketing combine a current and trending meme with a link back to your brand and a narrative that your audience can relate to. 

Ruka Hair dipped its toe into the world of meme marketing when the brand jumped on the Oprah Winfrey meme following that Harry and Meghan interview.

In the days and weeks following the interview, this photo of Oprah’s reaction was everywhere and the brand cleverly used it in relation to a narrative relevant to its target audience. We like it!

5. Penguin Random House

Here it is, the famous distracted boyfriend meme. Is this the most popular meme ever? Potentially.

The meme has been used time and time again online, but we particularly like Penguin Random House’s take on the viral image.

The brand put its own spin on it and directly linked it to the writing industry. While the meme content itself is slightly niche, it was appreciated by writers and readers alike – aka the core audience of Penguin Random House.

6. Gucci

Way back in 2017 luxury fashion house Gucci decided if meme marketing was good enough for everyone else then it was good enough for them too.

The brand recreated a series of popular and viral memes with their own products and models (and an award-winning photographer to shoot them because well, it’s Gucci after all).

One such meme was a take on the trending “Arthur’s fist” meme, which Gucci used as a chance to promote its new watch line.

While the memes were met with mixed reactions from Gucci’s audience, we have to applaud the brand for its unique take on meme marketing and the way it expertly included its latest product lines.

7. Diamond Express Travels

This is a great example of a brand using a popular meme but linking it right back to the service offering they provide for customers. 

Diamond Express Travels took the famous Drake meme and used it to promote the concept of using a travel agent to book a trip.

The brand also regularly takes part in #MemeMondays, a trending social media event where you are encouraged to share your favorite or unique memes.

8. Dominos

Speaking of Drake, the rapper has been the inspiration for many trending memes in his time, and here is another great example of a brand taking a trending meme and linking it to itself.

Dominos jumped on this meme trend and edited the image to include the pizza brand’s famous Garlic and Herb dip.

This was one of the first brand versions of this particular meme, highlighting why speed and relevance are key for meme marketing.

9. Dollar Shave Club

Meme marketing can be a particularly good idea for brands that have built a brand personality or persona that’s light-hearted and fun, like Dollar Shave Club.

From the moment the brand launched, it positioned itself as easy-going, fun, and a little bit cheeky, and its use of memes on social media reflects exactly that.

Dollar Shave Club’s approach to meme marketing highlights an important lesson for everyone: make sure your online content reflects the tone and personality of your brand. 

10. McDonald’s

McDonald’s approached meme marketing in a totally different way from many of the other brands on this list – the brand used it to make fun of itself.

Jumping on the online chatter about McFlurry spoons, McDonald’s showed that as a brand it doesn’t take itself too seriously, the perfect way to appeal to Gen-Z and Millennial customers.

11. Audible

At first glance, you wouldn’t necessarily think that the “spooky skeleton” meme would have anything to do with Audible, an audiobook and podcast service.

The brand was clever, however, and with some simple tweaks and by editing the text, were able to link the meme directly back to its service offering.

This is a great example of thinking outside of the box and finding fun and engaging ways to link popular memes to your own brand offering.

12. Starbucks

The “Me/Also Me” trend has been around for a while and there are loads of brands who have jumped on it and made it their own. We particularly like Starbucks’ approach.

The key to this particular meme trend is to make it relatable, both to you and your audience. You need to play on the thoughts and feelings of your audience if you want them to enjoy, engage, and share your meme.

13. OPI

Another text-based meme that is always popular is the “Sorry I have plans” trend.

Nail brand OPI jumped on this trend to great success because not only did it make the brand feel relevant and engaging, but it was also a clever way of promoting the brand’s products, getting people excited at the thought of purchasing and using them. Nice!

These kinds of memes are super simple to create, highlighting that meme marketing doesn’t need to take up too much of your time or resources.

14. Yappy

Yappy is a brand that sells personalized dog products, and therefore knows that its core audience online is made up of dog owners and lovers.

By understanding exactly who its audience is, the brand is able to use and create memes that they will relate to, increasing the chances of engagement and shares.

The Yappy social media feeds are full of memes, but we particularly like this one based around sharing your bed with your dog, since it proves that the brand understands the everyday lives of its customers.

This light-hearted and personal approach to meme marketing is definitely one to replicate!

15. Barkbox

Speaking of dog brands, another that uses meme marketing like an expert is Barkbox.

Barkbox is a monthly subscription service that includes dog toys and treats which means most of its online audience is made up of dog owners.

Dog memes, therefore, are bound to go down a treat. With this example, Barkbox didn’t have to do anything – the dog meme was already trending online, the brand simply had to repost it on the Barkbox page and watch the likes and shares come flooding in.

Barkbox proves that you don’t always need to personalize a meme to make it relevant to your brand. 

Now you’ve seen some great meme examples, take a look at our six expert tips for introducing meme marketing to your social media strategy.

Be Relevant to Your Brand and Target Audience

Everything you post on social media should be relevant to your audience, especially your memes. You may find a meme that you find funny, but if there’s no way to link it to your brand and audience then don’t bother posting it.

Every meme you post should be relevant to your brand and your services, otherwise, you become just another generic online meme account (and trust us, there are plenty of those online already!)

Keep It Short and Sweet

Memes should be fun, engaging, and short. The focus of most memes is imagery and any text you add to the meme, as well as your captions, should be short and sweet. Memes are meant to be fun, this isn’t the place for your long-form, educational content.

Be Creative

Meme marketing offers the ideal opportunity to get creative. Think outside of the box and create your own, relevant memes that users can share and enjoy. You can also jump onto trending and popular memes by putting your own creative spin on them. Don’t hold back and let your creative ideas flow!

Use High-Quality Images

Just like any images you use as part of your branding and marketing, the images you use to create memes should be high-quality. The main reason for this is that your memes need to be shareable – the more people who share your meme the better – and users are much less likely to share a low-quality, blurry image/meme. You can learn more in our full image optimization guide.

Don’t Be Offensive

We’re all for poking fun at yourself, and even your target audience, if that’s your brand personality, but it’s a fine line between being sarcastic and being offensive. Avoid any memes that are discriminatory or rude or that include slurs. You want to make your audience laugh, not cry!

Don’t Be Late 

Social media trends come and go in the blink of an eye, and what’s popular on Tik Tok today could be totally uncool tomorrow.

If you spot a meme trend that you want to utilize, you need to act swiftly and jump on the trend as quickly as possible.

Joining a trend too late will result in minimal shares and will make your brand look outdated, so you need to keep your finger firmly on the pulse with this one!

Staying on top of social trends can take a lot of work, so why do brands take the time and effort to ace meme marketing?

Increased Brand Awareness

Social media is a key way to grow your brand online. If you create memes that people want to share online, you’ll be getting your brand name spread to a broader audience, helping to increase brand awareness and hopefully grow your audience and traffic numbers.

Increased Engagement

People love memes, and in social media timelines chocked full of content, funny and unique memes stand out from the crowd. Memes are a great way of boosting your engagement and encouraging likes, comments, and shares.

Increased Traffic to Your Website

The more your brand is seen online, the more traffic you can drive to your website, and by creating memes that are shareable, relatable, and engaging, you’ll be positioning your brand as one to explore.

Improved Lead Generation

One of the most important, but often hardest, parts of growing an audience online is attracting customers to your online store or website who will actually make a purchase from your brand. In other words, active leads.

Meme marketing can be great for lead generation because, providing you’re creating memes that perfectly align with your brand and target audience, you’ll be attracting the attention of users who are the ideal fit for you.

Increased Sales

And of course, meme marketing can lead to the golden result: increased online sales. Now more than ever customers are thinking carefully about where they spend their money and the brands they choose to shop with. They’re looking for brands that have the same morals, ethos, and even sense of humor as them.

If you get meme marketing right, you should see a major boost to your sales figures.

Meme marketing isn’t just about having fun on the internet (although, it definitely should be fun), it can be a powerful tool to promote your website, raise brand awareness, build an engaged following, and drive active leads straight to your website.

As you can see from the brands of all sizes showcased in this article, anyone can start meme advertising on social media but before you get started, let’s recap our expert tips:

• Be relevant to your brand and audience
• Keep it short and sweet
• Be creative
• Use high-quality images
• Don’t be offensive
• Don’t be late

Remember, the key to meme marketing success is making sure you’re having fun and that everything is always relevant to both your brand and your audience. If you follow our tips and tricks, you can’t go wrong.

Are you planning to include meme marketing in your social media plans? Or maybe you have a favorite brand online that always smashes meme marketing? Let us know in the comments!