Monday, October 13, 2014

The Might of Memes

Before we all began talking about memes there was Grant Wood's painting American Gothic.  Along with the Mona Lisa by da Vinci, it is one of the most well known and parodied paintings of all time.


This recent print ad by Nescafe repurposes Grant Wood's painting to demonstrate a product benefit. Indeed, one might see this ad as an exemplification of Rosser Reeve's seminal concept known as the Unique Selling Proposition. The self-replicating power of Grant Wood's imagery is seen anew.

This painting has found many applications in advertising. Perhaps the best is this 1963 commercial for Country Corn Flakes.


There is a fine line in parody where homage can become ridicule. The secret of this commercial is the creators knew the difference between celebration and cynicism.

Memes have magical powers, if you know what you are doing.

   Copyright © 2014 by John Eighmey. All Rights Reserved.

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