I am on spring break so I’ve been on instagram a LOT and I am becoming increasingly annoyed with these types of advertisements:
Every sponsored post I see is a tiktok-formatted attempt to be inseparable from Gen Z’s feed. Some of the more creative strategies I’ve seen: pretending someone guessed the password to a company’s account; “I just got fired but I still have the password lol so funny”; using self-deprecating humor about how their manager is upset or how the account is failing, etc. These tactics create a fictional class solidarity with the consumer. There’s not a broke intern from Wendy’s tweeting because they’re bored, there’s a team of 20 something year olds whose job is to observe the latest meme trends and use teenagers’ minds as 24/7 advertising space.
You don’t need to be Gen Z to understand internet humor — you just need to spend hours on social media. Brands are getting better and better at passing as sentient and #relatable users on social media instead of as multi-million dollar corporations. They draw support and engagement by playing on themes like job insecurity while simultaneously causing that problem.
I once saw a post that said Gen Z has weird humor because of the sheer amount of words and content they’re exposed to every day so normal jokes don’t work but “lemon lime spine” is a one-hit knockout. Similarly, the insane volume of promotions online causes us to tune out anything resembling an obvious advertisement, so we’re left with these online interactions meant to be ironic and subversive. But soon, after every company jumps on this, it will be background noise and brands will have to invent even more unhinged strategies.
Tying a brand to someone’s sense of value is possibly even more effective than memeifying them. Companies cram our screens with heartfelt messages and green initiatives (to drown out their catastrophic impact on carbon emissions and plastic pollution). Remember, there is no incentive for companies to help the environment, and an eco-friendly business cannot be run successfully under capitalism. If a company puts out any kind of virtuous initiative or statement, it’s because the financial impact of the publicity nets a profit.
This imagined activism puts emphasis on the individual consumer to make good choices. You can be a sustainable citizen by buying a Starbucks sippy cup to save the turtles (even though plastic straws make up .025% of trash in the ocean). Brand activism is a trend driven by younger generations’ growing expectation for companies to be socially relevant. A survey in 2018 showed 64% of consumers around the world will choose or avoid a brand based on its political stance. Even though progressive commercials can spread good ideas and open up important conversations, it is ultimately a ploy to get your money.
Companies are not ironic memes or ethical institutions. We want to anthropomorphize brands and see companies as people with feelings, but remember that is how they get you. Happy shoplifting everyone (for legal reasons that is a joke)
sources (not including ones linked in essay):
hbomberguy “Woke Brands”
binchtopia “Corporations Are People Too”
rebel HQ “New Internet Trend Is Just Late-Stage Capitalism At Work”
the gen z-ification of corporations irks me sooo much lol. loved the essay!
“If a company puts out any kind of virtuous initiative or statement, it’s because the financial impact of the publicity nets a profit.“
Laura, just how many mics do you even have to drop?