Let's get one thing out of the way: this entire column is a sham. Memes are out of control. They're unfunny, tedious and so overdone that we need a stronger word than “cliché.” Therefore, the very best meme is no meme, but I understand that in these matters of me vs. the rest of the internet that sometimes I have to make concessions. That means while people continue to clog our newsfeeds with this pointless, unoriginal crap, I concede to evaluate the quality of certain memes.
Nothing in recent history fueled the collective meme-creation juices quite like Chick-fil-A's head honcho going straight up and public with his anti-gay views. Earlier this month, CEO Dan Cathy told Baptist Press that he is “very much supportive of the family”the biblical definition of the family unit.”
Those in the know were unsurprised”I've boycotted Chick-fil-A for several years now. But something about this round of Cathy's anti-gay messaging struck a nerve, unleashing a flurry of memes from both sides praising or condemning the fast food chain's stand against marriage equality.
Key factors in meme effectiveness are truth, message and share-ability, that indefinable hook that makes memes irresistible to those who love to click that little blue “share” link. There are too many to evaluate in this space so I'll grade three of the most popular Chick-fil-A memes.
Meme #1: The Muppet Lie
The CEO of the Jim Henson Company responded with an announcement that the company would no longer partner with Chick-fil-A to provide Muppet toys in kids' meals. There was some pro-Muppet love and that probably would have been the end of it had someone not snapped a photo of a sign on a Chick-fil-A counter stating that the toys were being recalled for a “possible safety issue.” It claims some children got “their fingers stuck in the holes of the puppet.”
This might be the best meme of the bunch. Chick-fil-A appears to be caught red-handed in a lie to cover up the reason why Muppets toys are no longer available. The share-ability factor is huge because people love nothing more than catching someone they disagree with in a lies. The meme's only weak spot is truth. The sign sure looks incriminating”it's posted on a typical fast food counter, dated 7/19/12 and bears the Chick-fil-A logo. But there is still no verification of where it was taken and it's possible the sign could be fabricated.
But was it?!
Tiffany Greenway, Corporate Public Relations for Chick-fil-A made a follow-up statement claiming a “potential safety concern” that is “unrelated to the Jim Henson announcement,” so that looks like that's their official party line and they're sticking to it.
Bad idea. Clearly a lie, making this meme perfection with bonus points for breaking and spreading a story before the official talking heads could get their spin in.
5 OUT OF 5 WAFFLE FRIES
Meme #2: DIY Sandwich
This one precedes the Muppet controversy and is quite simply a video and recipe to making your own Chick-fil-A sandwich at home, without the guilt of spending money to finance anti-gay activism. Food blogger Hilah struck the jackpot with this post which quickly went viral.
Truth is undetermined”while I found many people sharing and promising to try the recipe as of press time, much Googling did not reveal a single successful report or criticism from home cooks who had tried it themselves. Message is on-point, obviously. Share-ability score is somewhere in the middle”it's not that sexy to share on its own (although a number of Facebook users did so), but it gets extra points for being an excellent retort to the Chick-fil-A apologists claiming they love gays and all, but they simply cannot live without that sandwich.
3 OUT OF 5 WAFFLE FRIES
Meme #3: Abby Farle Fail
Here's the background: Chris [name blacked out] posted to Chick-fil-A's Facebook wall, “Admit it, Chick-fil-A: you stopped carrying Jim Henson's puppets as kids meal toys because you got dumped for being bigots, not because some kids “got their fingers stuck.” Two comments supportive of Chris followed and then came dimpled, redheaded teenager Abby Farle who claimed the toys were recalled weeks ago, dropped a little John 3:16 on the party and capped it off with: “derr.” Another user observed that “Abby” had only joined Facebook eight hours before then delivered the final blow: a Shutterstock image, watermarked, identical to “Abby's” profile photo.
So busted.
A screenshot of the exchange was the meme, and its share-ability is through the roof, because as already stated, internet users with political opinions love nothing more than catching opposition in a lie. The message is also solid”Abby's clearly a fake and not only that, the profile was a sloppily done fake so the perpetrators are not only liars, but they look stupid, too. The problem is Robert's attribution of the profile to a “Chick-fil-A PR guy.” So far, no evidence exists.
4 OUT OF 5 WAFFLE FRIES
