When Brands Try to Be Cool on the Internet (And Why It Usually Backfires)

Sometimes brand meme marketing can backfire. Some memes help create cultural trends, but often, brands shouldn’t try to be cool on the internet.

Nothing kills a meme faster than your favorite brand trying to use it in an ad. From Pepsi’s tone-deaf protest commercial to brands completely butchering TikTok trends, corporate attempts at internet culture often become the memes themselves – for all the wrong reasons. We break down why most brand trend-jacking fails so spectacularly, which companies actually nail authentic cultural marketing, and the research, timing, and cultural fluency it takes to ride viral moments without looking like that dad trying to be hip at the school dance.

Banks shouldn’t try to be funny

Various brand trend marketing failures have occurred, including meme marketing strategy methods that make fun of people. In fact, Chase Bank created a campaign that sent tweets mocking customers, which seems inappropriate and unprofessional. It’s bad enough that banks charge overdraft fees when your balance gets too low, but a bank tweeting you to suggest things like “you should make coffee at home” when your balance drops too low seems a bit over the line.

A step way too far

Although Americans have become more comfortable with sexuality, and younger generations talk about their genitals more than any previous generation, Tampax might have gone way too far. They may have stepped over the line with cultural appropriation advertising aimed at partners of women, with a tweet that read “you’re in their DMs. We’re in them. We are not the same.” This seems like a brand that lacks cultural awareness, because, despite a monthly cycle being normal for women, nobody really wants a reminder.

Watch what you say about mental health

A brand meme marketing campaign that crossed cultural trends without intending to happened with Biore’s TikTok campaign. The idea was to raise awareness about mental health, but it ended up trivializing the subject, which certainly caused some serious backlash. It’s important that brands have viral marketing authenticity and understand what their message says before causing brand social media missteps.

McDonalds forgot to finish the tweet

In an example of social media trend hijacking, McDonald’s created a failed tweet that read “Black Friday****Need copy and link***” which seems like they forgot to finish the job. There’s no doubt that this was a viral moment in marketing that created a crazy buzz in terms of brand meme marketing, which became one of the cultural trends we see regularly. Whether the famous fast-food chain forgot to finish the message or this was the intended message, it’s hard to say. Either way, McDonald’s got lots of attention for this one.

Apple is clueless, or at least they were

When it comes to internet culture and marketing, Apple usually understands its audience but missed the market last year. In 2024, Apple posted a “Crush” ad campaign, which showed many creative tools like musical instruments, cameras, and books being crushed by a hydraulic press, suggesting these items aren’t necessary as long as iPads exist. This concept didn’t sit well and became an example of brand meme marketing that missed the mark in terms of cultural trends. The backlash was quick and decisive, with many creative people voicing their disapproval.

Objectification goes overboard

One of the latest examples of brand backlash over advertising came with the American Eagle campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. The suggestive language was “great genes” instead of “great jeans.” Also, Sweeney posed suggestively in the ad, which was supposed to be lighthearted and fun, but the backlash was anything but. Sweeney’s blonde-hair, blue-eyed image became the focus of racial undertones, which made the ads even worse. This backlash spread quickly and missed the mark of being racially sensitive or leaning into body shaming.

Slanted eyes miss the mark for Swatch

Swiss watchmaker Swatch was forced to pull its new Essentials campaign because of poor brand meme marketing that damages cultural trends. The ad shows an Asian male model making a “slanted eye” pose, which was condemned on Chinese social media. This racial taunt has been condemned because of how it’s aimed at Asians. Even having a mode of Asian descent making the pose doesn’t make things right or better. Cultural sensitivity is non-negotiable. Ads must be tested on diverse audiences before being rolled out to the public.

Many times, brand meme marketing has missed cultural trends and been insensitive to the potential audience. This is one of the many hurdles that marketing teams face when creating content. It’s important to be sensitive to anything that could potentially cross cultural and social boundaries.