Monday Tip-Off: When Companies Join in the Memes

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on why I find it distasteful when video game companies join in with memes and jokes, especially about themselves.

Like any joke or popular fad, online memes eventually run their course. To that end, the general lifecycle of a meme has been astutely lampooned by several people. Last year, Man Carrying Thing posted a sketch that summed up the rapid rise and fall of many an absurd meme that achieves inexplicable popularity. While “OK Boomer” lives on as a common retort, cartoonist Kasia Babis aptly used it as an example of a meme’s lifecycle. Another cartoonist, Alex Krokus, perfectly captured the general response to brands jumping on memes and online trends.

Alex’s comic in particular resonates with me, because we’ve seen more and more brands attempt to join in on viral trends as a marketing strategy. Naturally, this also includes video game developers and publishers. On paper, it makes sense for these companies to angle for some viral positive publicity by attempting to cultivate a fun and relatable image, though this can easily backfire. This is especially true whenever a company tries to lean into jokes and memes about itself. Although it can be a very effective strategy if they end up pulling it off, it can easily fail to achieve the playful vibe that they’re aiming for. All too often, it instead comes across as condescending.

One of the most infamous examples of a company joining in on the memes and jokes about itself is when South Park satirised the controversy with EA Sports and NCAA video games. As you may recall, not only did the show take aim at the concept of “student athletes” and their inability to profit off of products such as video games, it actually featured a caricature of then-head of EA Sports Peter Moore, who dismisses the kids with “that old EA Sports saying: get the f— out of my building!” A couple of weeks later, Peter Moore referenced the scene, beginning to echo the words of his animated counterpart before switching gears and reciting the “it’s in the game” tagline.

In short, instead of getting publicly angry and firing back, Moore took the parody in stride. Considering how some public figures will respond to any criticism or joke at their expense, his thick-skinned response was admirable. It showed humility and a sense of humour, and by not making a fuss, it avoided further scorn and the dreaded “Streisand effect“. Of course, it also deftly took the sting out of the criticism, shifting focus away from the issue being satirised to how Moore was a good sport about it. We weren’t wrong to enjoy this convergence of our pop culture interests, but if we were meant to remain outraged about the treatment of college athletes, it didn’t really stick.

That’s not to say that Trey Parker and Matt Stone necessarily wanted us to care. South Park’s commentary on so many issues has often boiled down to “both sides are wrong, you’re a fool if you care, and anyone who pushes for change is an annoying busybody, so just point and laugh”. Nevertheless, with Peter Moore leaning into the joke, it took some of the bite out of the bit. You can hate EA Sports, you can hate their games, but now you’re either laughing with their head honcho for being able to take a satirical jab on the chin, or it’s stopped being funny because he wasn’t offended. It certainly didn’t make EA popular, but the parody didn’t become a cudgel to beat them with, either.

I’m not suggesting that it was a particularly calculated or sinister move. In fact, such self-deprecation is a stock standard strategy for dealing with insults. To make another pop culture reference, I’m reminded of Tyrion Lannister’s blunt but wise advice to Jon Snow regarding unkind comments about his parentage in the first season of Game of Thrones: “wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you“. When companies (or their bigwigs, as the case may be) join in the jokes and memes about themselves though, it takes the fun out of them. The gags either come across as a misguided “how do you do, fellow kids?” attempt at being cool and trendy, or deftly deflect criticism.

2K has employed this tactic as well. A number of “NBA 2K in real life” videos have been produced over the years, perfectly capturing the weird and annoying quirks that we’ve often laughed at and criticised. Developers and reps have acknowledged those videos, and even shared them in the past. Once again, there’s definitely an essence of self-deprecation and rolling with the punches here. At the same time though, it feels like a slap in the face for the company to acknowledge the memes without validating the criticism, or for that matter, fixing the problems being pointed out. Just because foibles are being presented in a humorous way, it doesn’t mean we’re entirely joking!

Another prime example is the acknowledgement of gamers telling Ronnie 2K to “fix your servers”. It must be noted that Ronnie isn’t responsible for that – or any technical issues or design choices for that matter – but as the face of the brand, he’s become the lightning rod for discontentment with NBA 2K. To that point, I won’t say that it isn’t funny when you’re able to reply to his virtual text messages in MyCAREER with “fix your servers”, or when he shows up to your MyCOURT for an interview in grubby clothes, stating he was just working on them. As with Peter Moore referencing South Park, on some level we appreciate the self-awareness and willingness to play along.

But, just like Peter Moore having fun with the caricature of himself and EA’s business practices, focusing on the memetic nature of “fix your servers” and making it a joke in MyCAREER downplays a frustrating recurring issue with the series. After a while, it starts feeling less like a self-deprecating joke, and more like a swipe at “whiny” fans who repeat the same complaint (and to the wrong person) over and over again. As I’ve grumbled before, instead of joining in the jokes and memes about the servers, it’d be far preferable if they – you know – actually improved online play! It’s not that the gags aren’t funny at all, but the more that you think about them, the less harmless they feel.

The same can be said for the official NBA 2K social media accounts jumping on the Spirit Halloween costume meme back in 2022. 2K’s idea of a “scary costume” was the default MyPLAYER outfit, which included a “low Overall Rating, questionable shot selection, and constant flopping”. Granted, that’s not the potential teammate you want to see in the Park, but when it comes to lousy basketball IQ and selling, you’re just as likely to see high-rated, “drippy” players doing that! They could’ve just as easily made a meme about those Park players as well to balance things out, but they didn’t. That’s why 2K joining in with that particular meme bugged me as much as it did back then.

While 2K leaping on certain jokes and memes could be seen as self-deprecating, the Halloween costume gag was purely punching down at gamers. In particular, it took a swipe at anyone who didn’t want to spend real money or mindlessly grind to get enough VC to upgrade faster and properly outfit their MyPLAYER, in what we’re reliably told isn’t a “Barbie Dress-Up Game“. The fact that gamers are stuck with such an underpowered avatar with basic clothing is by their design, as is the “convenient” solution of buying Virtual Currency. The “horror” of underpowered MyPLAYERs in the online scene is a problem that they created, so they’re in no position to scorn them!

Moreover, it played into the elitism that the series has been fostering since NBA 2K18. Of course newbies aren’t going to be elite on the sticks right away, especially when their MyPLAYERs don’t have the ratings to compensate for developing skills. If only they could learn the game and sharpen those skills against competition at their level with proper matchmaking, with an avatar that isn’t completely useless out of the gate and improves at a fair rate of progression! Say it isn’t that deep and that I’m being overly-sensitive if you will, but to me, it came across as mean-spirited and tone-deaf. At the very least, it’s ironic, given that the game itself creates these “scary monsters”.

Beyond soulless attempts at viral marketing, coming across like an old person trying to be young and hip, or simply not being particularly witty and funny, punching down and failing to be adequately self-deprecating is what I find so distasteful about video game companies joining in any jokes and memes about themselves. It’s admittedly hard for a big corporation to come across as authentic and down-to-earth, especially when self-deprecation can seem like – and often is – an attempt to deflect criticism. Still, it’s better than making the little guy – the consumers – the butt of your jokes and memes, particularly if you’re mocking them for being in a situation that you created.

Quite simply, power and influence matter when it comes to comedy. Consider how the best celebrity cameos on TV shows tend to be the ones where the famous person will lampoon themselves and their body of work. We enjoy them because they aren’t taking themselves too seriously, or demanding to be placed on a pedestal. Conversely, guest appearances where the celebrity is fawned over are often derided, not only due to a lack of humility, but because there isn’t anything funny about grovelling praise for someone with the power of celebrity or public office. Likewise, satirising a big corporation is much funnier than that company taking a pot-shot, even at themselves.

With that being said, companies also have a way of spoiling jokes and memes that are otherwise harmless, and aren’t at their expense. Going back to Alex Krokus’ cartoon, brands have a tendency to jump on trends after they’ve peaked, and doing so in such a sanitised, manufactured, and “corporate” way that they’ll suddenly become uncool (or lame, or cringe, or whatever slang one’s generation prefers). For those of us who have now been adults longer than we were children, think back to those fads that we lost interest in once our parents and other older people got involved. South Park satirised that phenomenon as well, in their parody of Pokémon that aired way back in 1999.

Needless to say, there are far worse problems in the world today than a corporation – whether it’s a video game company or another brand – flopping at jokes and memes on social media. As far as video games are concerned, I’d unreservedly consider issues with a specific release to be a much bigger problem than a failed attempt at humour from its developer. However, the way that brands interact with their audience betrays their priorities, as well as their attitude towards consumers. We’ll notice whenever a company has disdain for us, or are trying to deflect criticism with humour. We’ll also definitely notice when their socials are more about memes than meaningful posts!

And of course, we’re likely to respond more positively to companies joining in the memes and jokes if they’ve banked ample goodwill. Deliver on your products or services, establish a good rapport with your target audience, and we won’t mind the occasional silly post. We’ll even stomach Dad Joke-level humour if we generally like what you’re doing! It’s when the joke is at our expense, or it’s trying to turn our valid criticism into a gag, or it’s desperately forcing your brand into a viral trend to grab attention, or you utterly miss the mark with an attempt at humour, or you’ve burned your audience with a constant lack of goodwill, that we’ll be hostile to the tomfoolery.

Ultimately, it’s because they spoiled the fun. Like the friend who jumps on a joke and then takes it too far because they can’t read the room, or perhaps turns some playful ribbing into genuine nastiness because they’re a bit of a bully, brands ruin the vibe when they jump on memes. An organic idea for a bit of fun and whimsy has now been appropriated as a marketing tool, or worse yet, a way to dismiss valid criticism under the guise of self-deprecation. If nothing else, “corporate” is usually the antithesis of “cool”. As Alex Krokus aptly illustrated, as soon as brands start putting metaphorical pineapples on their heads, it’s a clear sign for the rest of us to start tossing them away.

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