Memes are insight gold
Memes are more than time wasting. They're research and development. You know why? Tension.
Tension is interesting because it's hard. It's hard on our egos, who want it easy. It's hard because it signals trouble. It's hard because it's not linear.
And yet, tension creates vibration. And vibration gets us hooked. And that’s what every successful meme has. Tension. Followed by punchline. Plato was onto something similar:
"Serious things cannot be understood without laughable things."
Even a serious category has a funny take on it. This doesn’t mean ‘make the work funny’. It means ‘look at the problem in funny ways’. So next time you work on a brief, consider the meme.
Look up subreddits of your category. Meme accounts adjacent to your product. Gags others have shared on Twitter/X. Funny TikToks about your brand. And then consider, among the truly funny stuff:
What is the tension here? (setup)
What is the release it offers? (punchline)
After all, sometimes the best unlocks start with this question.
"You know what’s funny about this problem?"
So don’t obsess with formalising your thinking just yet.
Find the funny first.
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