15 best meme marketing examples from big brands in 2025
Meme marketing can be your shortcut to viral fame. We break down why memes matter, how to use them without cringing and serve up 15 clever meme marketing examples to inspire your next social media marketing campaign.
Doge, Pepe the Frog, Grumpy Cat or Flex Tape. Most of us have shared a spot-on meme with friends or coworkers. Still, many brands overlook the fact that memes aren’t just silly jokes but powerful marketing tools.
Audiences expect marketing that blends seamlessly into their social feeds, and over 60% of people say they’re more likely to buy from brands that use memes.
Memes are humorous, relatable and emotive. When used strategically, they’re a low-cost, high-reward way to get your brand noticed. Plus, marketing memes that tap into current trends and internet culture could drive relevance for your brand.
As the world’s leading AI-powered creative service, Superside is your go-to partner for scroll-stopping, brand-boosting creative campaigns that can include memes.
But before we get into how Superside can supercharge your growth, let’s break down the magic behind meme marketing, why these visuals work wonders for brands, and 15 real-world meme marketing examples that delivered results. 😉
What is meme marketing and why does it work?
Meme marketing is all about using funny, relatable and culturally on-point memes to promote brands, products or messages across social platforms. It leverages the viral nature of memes to capture attention quickly and encourage audience interaction, often with the aim to entertain rather than sell.
And as Tom Fishburne, creator of Marketoonist, mentioned in a conversation with Superside’s CMO, Jen Rapp, humor can become a leadership skill—for you and your brand.
Unlike traditional content marketing, which usually focuses on informative, polished content like blog posts, white papers and case studies, meme marketing is informal, fast-paced and driven by internet trends. Popular memes often incorporate humor and cultural relevance to establish emotional connections with their target audience.
People get to see their own thoughts or experiences reflected in a funny way, which triggers positive emotions and serves as a form of social currency. It’s no wonder the popularity of memes is growing: 30% of 13 to 35-year-olds send memes every day; 55% send them every week.
Memes are designed to be shared because of their concise, visual format and emotional impact. These characteristics also make them ideal for social media marketing. Instagram users, for example, share over one million memes daily.
The global meme market was valued at $2.3 billion in 2020 and is projected to soar to $6.1 billion by 2025. This is a clear sign that memes aren’t just popular; they’re big business.
Despite its lighthearted reputation, good meme marketing is far from random or effortless. It takes sharp timing and real cultural fluency to get your marketing strategy right. But if you nail it, your memes could humanize your brand, spark community engagement and drive organic reach.
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Why meme marketing is great for brands
Meme marketing isn’t just a passing fad. It’s a strategic asset.
When you use marketing memes thoughtfully and align them with your brand’s identity, they can establish strong connections with target customers. The best part? You don’t need to burn out your already stretched creative team or break the bank to see results.
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These images can help your brand appear approachable, relevant and in sync with your target customers, especially if this audience includes younger digital natives.
Let’s dive into the top three benefits of using memes as part of your marketing strategy:
1. Emotional and psychological connection
When brands get memes right, they prove they truly understand their audience’s language, inside jokes and cultural references, which builds relatability and trust.
Humor, in particular, is a powerful emotional trigger that can break down barriers and make brands feel more like good friends than cold corporations.
As in other areas of life, shared laughter fosters a feeling of belonging and community. In marketing, laughter can also help build positive brand associations.
2. Performance and shareability
Memes outperform many traditional content types in terms of engagement.
Polished ads can feel pushy and out of place, but memes blend right in with users’ social feeds and come across more like content from friends than brands.
This authenticity encourages people to share and engage with memes. Brand messages tend to spread quickly and widely, often without incurring any promotional costs.
3. Brand positioning and tone of voice
Memes can help shape a brand’s positioning, tone of voice and personality. They’re particularly useful for brands that want to come across as approachable, on-trend and culturally aware.
At Superside, we know meme-driven campaigns can be both fun and incredibly effective. In fact, our ad creative teams have mastered the art of blending professionalism and expertise with internet culture to deliver successful meme marketing campaigns for brands.
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15 meme marketing examples from top brands
Ready to see successful meme marketing in action? Here are 15 standout examples from major brands that demonstrate the power of these visuals.
1. Superside
At Superside, we’ve long embraced the power of perfectly timed memes to help our customers connect with their target audiences on social media, whether it’s B2C brands on Instagram or B2B companies on LinkedIn.
Memes aren’t just a fun way to stay relevant and tap into social media trends; they’re a strategic tool that drives engagement and builds authentic connections, even in the most competitive B2B spaces.
But great meme marketing is about more than just getting laughs: You also need to balance cultural relevance with brand safety. Our creative teams know how to craft on-trend, timely content that resonates with today’s audiences and protects your brand’s reputation and voice.
We understand the importance of being bold and relatable without ever crossing a line that could damage your brand. Plus, we prioritize brand guidelines and business objectives in every meme marketing campaign we create.
Three of our favorite ways to use memes include:
Campaign-focused memes
Memes can help deliver high-converting marketing campaigns. Here’s a good example from our own portfolio: To promote Superside’s AI services, our social media team wanted to create a meme to highlight that AI isn’t a magic fix for all creative work.
Legendary Jim Carrey became the face of the campaign.The seven-finger scene from “Bruce Almighty” has been featured in numerous memes over the years.
We created our own version to remind our target audience of the importance of human input in AI-generated creative work.
Relatable memes for creatives and designers
Superside loves speaking directly to the creative community. That’s why we regularly craft content, ads and marketing materials that address the real challenges designers face.
Our creative team has a soft spot for “The Office” and often turns to its iconic moments to create highly relatable, shareable memes. Over the years, Michael Scott and crew have kept our audience entertained on various social media channels.
Trending memes
At Superside, we frequently draw on expert-backed creative performance strategies to build standout campaigns for our customers. Over time, we’ve also learned that trending memes can help keep our social media content fresh and relatable.
For example, in this carousel, our team put a creative spin on the latest Met Gala images and turned them into design-themed memes that stood out in our target customers’ feeds.
As you can see, we frequently publish timely, culturally aware and crafted memes to help us build our business. We can, of course, do the same for your brand.
Integrated into broader, multi-channel campaigns, these visuals can become highly scalable tools that drive consistent results. High-quality, on-brand memes can also help your brand stand out and build authentic connections.
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2. Reddit by Superside
Industry: Social media
Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook
Many top brands and enterprises know we’re leaders in creative meme campaigns. One of them is online community giant Reddit.
When this brand asked Superside to help celebrate the impressive ad results top brands like Adobe achieve on their platform, we knew only top-tier memes would do.
We set out to create a meme campaign that was anything but generic, using original, ultra-Reddity memes to highlight just how effective Reddit ads can be. The result? A significant 50% increase in click-through rate (CTR).
Key takeaway: Social media meme marketing can reinforce a brand’s light-hearted side and effectively convey a strong brand message. Superside helped Reddit demonstrate the effectiveness of its platform for advertisers and attracted new customers with clever, on-brand humor.
3. Netflix
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Streaming entertainment
Platform: Instagram
Netflix is a great example of a brand that uses effective meme marketing to stay top of mind. With a significant portion of its audience under 35, Netflix recognizes that memes are a core part of how its target customers communicate and engage online.
The streaming service’s social media team frequently creates and shares memes that are timely, self-aware and perfectly tailored to its target audience’s interests. The brand often pokes fun at its own shows or capitalizes on other social media trends.
Take their successful promotion of the popular thriller “You.” Netflix posted a series of highly relatable Joe Goldberg memes to entice viewers to watch the show.
Key takeaway: Relatable, humorous memes that engage viewers can strengthen brand-customer connections. These funny memes make Netflix feel more like a friend than a big business. They also keep audiences entertained and informed about new releases.
4. Semrush
(Source: X)
Industry: SaaS
Platform: X
Semrush used topical humor in this meme campaign, which incorporated popular meme formats and bang-on-trend cultural references. They delivered designs that felt both recognizable and original, which helped them connect authentically with their audience and maintain high engagement levels.
The campaign was designed for digital marketers, SEO specialists and content creators, all of whom enjoy industry-related humor. Semrush’s use of hilarious images, like the guinea pig called “attachment” struggling down a chute labeled “email,” highlights the daily struggles of online marketing.
Key takeaway: This meme marketing strategy effectively humanizes the brand and makes complex digital marketing concepts accessible and engaging. The memes align the brand’s marketing materials with the humor and challenges familiar to their target audience, which makes it all the more relatable.
5. Domino’s Pizza
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Fast food
Platform: Instagram
Pizza giant Domino’s cleverly capitalized on the momentum of Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” album cover (already a viral trend) by pulling it into their meme marketing strategy.
The cover, which shows multiple emojis of pregnant women, was reimagined to feature Domino’s signature Garlic & Herb Dip in front of each woman’s stomach.
The campaign’s reach grew beyond just pizza lovers and Drake fans. Ultimately, it attracted social media users from all corners of the internet as the post gained momentum.
Key takeaway: Speed and timing are key when it comes to the use of trending memes in marketing campaigns. Domino’s jumped on the Drake album cover meme bandwagon quickly and effectively.
6. OPI
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Nail care
Platform: Instagram
Few memes are more relatable than the text-based “Sorry, I have plans” meme. It’s a classic excuse we use when we want to prioritize personal time over social plans (yes, we’ve all been there).
Cosmetics brand OPI joined in on the trend and used the straightforward meme format to say: “Stay in and use our nail products as a fun alternative to a night out.”
The meme campaign was aimed at social media users who prioritize self-care.
Key takeaway: OPI harnessed society’s move toward self-care in a simple, fun and clever way. The brand aligned its messaging with a widely recognized meme to enhance brand relatability and encourage audience interaction. The simple campaign also demonstrated that meme marketing success doesn’t require vast amounts of time or creative resources.
7. SparkNotes
(Source: X)
Industry: Study guides
Platform: X
In this example, SparkNotes provides a master class in the creation of shareable content with a “literary remix” that combines classic literature with contemporary humor.
The brand often repurposes popular meme formats or creates original content that summarizes or comments on literary works. This approach transforms complex literary themes into digestible, entertaining content for social media users.
With their audience of students, educators and literary enthusiasts, witticisms and culturally relevant content go a long way toward successful customer engagement.
Key takeaway: Just because your brand is educational or traditional, it doesn’t mean you can’t be funny. SparkNotes demonstrates that incorporating humor and memes into your social media marketing strategy can do more than entertain. It can position your brand as a modern and relevant resource that genuinely adds value.
8. Diamond Express Travels
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Travel
Platform: Instagram
Diamond Express Travels uses template-based and topical memes to highlight relatable situations for travelers.
In this campaign, the brand used the widely recognized “Drakeposting” meme, which juxtaposes two contrasting images of Drake, to illustrate a preference for one choice over another (e.g., the hassle of booking a trip versus the ease of using a travel agent).
The campaign targeted aspiring travelers and vacation planners, especially those who appreciate relatable, humorous content that simplifies the decision-making process.
The brand also maintains cultural relevance by participating in trends like #MemeMondays.
Key takeaway: Even service-oriented businesses can use meme marketing to enhance their digital presence. Diamond Express Travels leverages popular memes to keep travel top of mind for their audience, deliver laughs and ensure their brand stays relevant and memorable.
9. BarkBox
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Monthly pet subscription services
Platform: Instagram
BarkBox, the dog toy subscription service, understands that a clever dog meme is marketing gold for its audience. That’s why they fill their feeds with absurd, highly relatable dog memes and use humor to connect with dog lovers who live on social media.
A classic example is the “stepping on a squeaky toy” meme, which hilariously captures a dog’s startled excitement when its owner accidentally steps on one of its toys.
Key takeaway: You don’t always have to personalize a meme to make it relevant to your audience. Sometimes the timely use of a pre-existing meme that resonates with your target audience can be a powerful marketing tool.
10. Penguin Random House
(Source: X)
Industry: Publishing
Platform: X
The “distracted boyfriend” meme, which developed from a stock photograph, is one of the internet’s most enduring memes.
Penguin Random House joined the trend and published literary industry spins on the famous visual, with niche publishing and language references. This smart campaign resonated with its target audience of avid readers and writers.
Key takeaway: A widely recognized meme format can significantly boost the shareability and engagement potential of your campaign. Plus, it requires minimal effort.
11. Wendy’s
(Source: X)
Industry: Fast food
Platform: X
Wendy’s has developed a sassy brand personality on X that navigates the fine line between hilariously funny and borderline offensive.
The brand used both meta-humor and roast culture during its annual #NationalRoastDay campaign, in which it engaged in playful banter with celebs and other brands.
When Gordon Ramsay (famous for his fiery kitchen persona) asked to be roasted, Wendy’s seized the moment with a clever tweet that featured the iconic Spider-Man pointing meme.
The brand playfully highlighted the similarities between their own sharp-witted social media roasts and Ramsay’s signature style. They turned the exchange into a self-aware, meme-driven moment that resonated with fans of both.
Key takeaway: A brand’s ability to laugh at itself and keep things light-hearted can go a long way. Celebrity engagement doesn’t hurt either.
12. Dollar Shave Club
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Men’s grooming and personal care
Platform: Instagram
With an Instagram bio that reads, “We make razors and have fun,” it’s no surprise that Dollar Shave Club incorporates playful memes into its marketing strategy. In fact, the brand goes a step further and frequently uses a mix of relatable humor, parody and trend-driven content.
Dollar Shave Club often creates memes that playfully highlight everyday grooming mishaps or exaggerate the benefits of their products. For instance, one of the brand’s memes puts a playful spin on the phrase “my body is a temple.” It positions its products as the ultimate self-care essentials, but when the temple “closes” at 7 p.m., junk food, beer and Dollar Shave Club wipes make an appearance.
Dollar Shave Club’s brand image resonates with customers who appreciate brands that don’t take themselves too seriously. Its meme content appeals to men who value convenience, affordability and humor.
Key takeaway: Dollar Shave Club has ensured its online content reflects the brand’s tone and personality. Even when joking, the brand consistently reinforces its core value propositions: Convenience, affordability and confidence. This makes the humor highly strategic.
13. Audible
(Source: Instagram)
Industry: Audiobook and podcast streaming
Platform: Instagram
Audible is a great example of a brand that capitalized on a popular topical meme, “The Spooky Skeleton.”
Some memes are seasonal hits, and this is one of them. Audible used the skeleton to contribute to the existing Halloween hype on social media platforms. By editing the meme text, the brand linked the meme to its offering and promoted its audiobooks.
The campaign was crafted for millennial and Gen Z audiobook listeners who are deeply engaged with popular culture. Audible humorously tapped into online trends to connect with audiences who value brands attuned to the online conversations that shape their world.
Key takeaway: Audible personalized a much-loved meme to engage its audience. This example also serves as a reminder that seasonal marketing memes can keep your campaigns fun and relevant.
14. Google Maps
(Source: X)
Industry: Digital mapping technology
Platform: X
Google Maps blends parody, seasonal humor and nostalgia-driven memes to connect with its audience.
A standout moment was when the brand joined the pumpkin spice craze and playfully suggested that even Google Maps couldn’t resist helping users find their seasonal spice fix. This approach made Google Maps feel more relatable and in tune with everyday trends.
Given Google Maps’ massive and diverse user base, their campaigns are designed to be as accessible and shareable as possible. The brand prioritizes clear messaging, inclusive design and content that’s easy for anyone to engage with, regardless of background or ability.
Key takeaway: Brands that use trends in a relatable way tend to win customers. Google Maps’ choice of meme and text made the post easily shareable and increased its viral potential.
15. McDonald’s
(Source: McDonald’s)
Industry: Fast food
Platform: Instagram
Few marketing lists would be complete without McDonald’s making an appearance.
The fast-food giant leaned into its playful reputation with a meme that poked fun at the widespread confusion over the McFlurry spoon, a utensil many customers mistakenly assume is a straw due to its hollow, square design.
To turn this viral confusion into a positive brand moment, McDonald’s launched a special promotion: Anyone who had ever thought the McFlurry spoon was a straw could claim a free Caramel Brownie McFlurry through the McDonald’s app.
Key takeaway: Memes can be used to address concerns, confusion or debate around your brand in a lighthearted way. As it leaned into the joke and engaged directly with customers’ experiences, McDonald’s not only cleared up the misunderstanding but also sparked positive buzz.
With Superside, funny means business
Beyond just making us laugh, memes shape conversations, influence opinions and reflect our collective identity. As highly shareable, performance-driven assets, they can also amplify your brand’s personality and expand your reach.
When you strike the right balance of humor, timing and brand alignment, meme marketing campaigns become a scalable, strategic way to humanize your brand and deliver real results.
Superside’s creative team can turn meme-led strategies into high-converting, high-volume campaigns for our B2B customers. Let’s also make them part of your marketing mix.
And if you’re worried you’re not “funny enough,” don’t stress. We’ll make sure your brand’s memes are more “viral sensation” than “dad joke at the company picnic.”
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Meet Roger, a content marketer driven by his love for online search, digital marketing, and performance marketing. When he's not immersed in the latest updates on Google, AI and social media, you'll find him passionately crafting strategies to simplify online searches for people, sparing them the frustration of navigating through endless pages. As a marketer, Roger Match has turned into the perfect match for Superside, helping us showcase our purpose, objectives and essence to the world.
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