{"id":85504,"date":"2025-07-02T01:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T01:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glossary\/meme\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T17:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T17:06:59","slug":"meme","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/meme\/","title":{"rendered":"Meme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A meme is an image, video or text, usually humorous, that people modify and share online until it becomes popular.<\/strong> The most common form is a well-known photo with a caption on top that each user adapts to their own situation.<\/p>\n\n

Memes are part of the way we talk on social media and WhatsApp, just like internet slang<\/a>. That is why brands also use them to connect with their audience.<\/p>\n\n

What does meme mean?<\/h2>\n\n

The word was coined by the biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976, in his book The Selfish Gene<\/em>. He based it on the Greek mimema<\/em>, “imitation”, to name an idea or custom that is copied from person to person, just as a gene passes from parents to children.<\/p>\n\n

With the internet, the term came to mean the funny content that people share online. In 2018 the Royal Spanish Academy added this meaning to its dictionary.<\/p>\n\n

In Spanish the word is masculine: el meme<\/strong>, los memes<\/strong>. “La meme”, “mem” and “neme” are common mistakes.<\/p>\n\n

Features of a meme<\/h2>\n\n

A meme almost always has these traits:<\/p>\n\n

Feature<\/th>What it means<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Humor or irony<\/td>It aims to make people laugh or sum up a situation in a witty way<\/td><\/tr>
Recognizable format<\/td>An image or template that people identify instantly<\/td><\/tr>
Variations<\/td>Each user changes the text to fit their own case<\/td><\/tr>
Brevity<\/td>You get it in a second or two<\/td><\/tr>
Fast spread<\/td>It is shared massively on social media and messaging apps<\/td><\/tr>
Short life<\/td>Many go out of fashion within weeks<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

A meme works because it reflects a shared experience. Whoever sees it thinks “that happens to me too” and shares it.<\/p>\n\n

\"Infographic<\/figure>\n\n
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Bring the humor of your social media to your newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create emails with images, GIFs and memes in a drag-and-drop editor. Free for up to 80,000 emails a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Types of memes<\/h2>\n\n

The most common memes can be grouped like this:<\/p>\n\n

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  1. Image with text:<\/strong> a photo or illustration with one line of text at the top and another at the bottom.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Comparison:<\/strong> two or more panels that contrast a situation, for example “what I expect” versus “what actually happens”.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. GIF and short video:<\/strong> a brief scene that loops; it is often used as a reply in chats. Learn more in our entry on the GIF<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Text or phrase:<\/strong> an expression that gets repeated on social media, such as YOLO<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Audio or trend:<\/strong> a sound or a dance that thousands of people recreate in short videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Emoji and reactions:<\/strong> combinations of emojis<\/a> that everyone reads the same way.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    What is a meme for?<\/h2>\n\n

    People share memes to laugh, express an opinion, comment on current events or feel part of a group. A meme says in one image what would take several sentences to explain.<\/p>\n\n

    For a brand, a well-chosen meme helps show a friendly tone, gain engagement<\/a> on social media and reach a young audience.<\/p>\n\n

    Examples of memes<\/h2>\n\n

    Here are some examples of situations that often turn into memes:<\/p>\n\n

    Situation<\/th>How it becomes a meme<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Monday morning<\/td>An image of someone exhausted with the caption “me, Monday at 8 a.m.”<\/td><\/tr>
    Expectation vs. reality<\/td>Two photos: the dish on the menu and the one that arrives at the table<\/td><\/tr>
    A mistake by the brand itself<\/td>The company laughs at itself with an image of a confused cat<\/td><\/tr>
    A viral event<\/td>Thousands of versions of the same photo within a few hours<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    The Ecce Homo of Borja, a meme that turned out well<\/h2>\n\n

    In the summer of 2012, Cecilia Gim\u00e9nez, a resident of Borja (Zaragoza), tried to restore an Ecce Homo fresco in the Sanctuary of Mercy. The result went around the world and became one of the best-known Spanish memes.<\/p>\n\n

    Far from hiding it, the town made the most of it. Tens of thousands of people have come to see it, there is a visitor center that tells the story, and ticket sales have raised more than 600,000 euros for a foundation that, among other things, helps older people on low incomes. Cecilia Gim\u00e9nez died in December 2025, at the age of 94.<\/p>\n\n

    The lesson for your brand: when something of yours becomes a meme, laughing along with people usually works better than asking them to take it down. The same goes for a well-written errata notice<\/a>. If you are looking for ideas to bring humor to your campaigns, check out these examples of funny emails<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

    Memes in marketing<\/h2>\n\n

    Using memes in a marketing strategy has advantages and risks:<\/p>\n\n