Social Media Glitter and Gold: How One Dress Became a Worldwide Meme
“White and gold or black and blue?” The question seems rather benign, but managed to ignite a social media firestorm. An innocent Tumblr post (since taken down) sparked a global debate over what color the dress was, gathering steam on Twitter and eventually making it to the New York Times. Spoiler alert: the dress is black and blue:
There were several components that made this dress such a successful meme:
- Simplicity — this was just a picture, and all one had to do was look at it.
- Brevity — the internet has brought a great deal of competition into our lives for attention and this only required a moment to view
- Lightheartedness — everyone can appreciate a break from their day and facing “serious” questions about work, family, and the world.
But, there is another, greater, factor that underpins the success of this meme: everyone likes a good fight. We are tribal by nature and it became fun to pit “team white and gold” against team “black and blue.” This was an opportunity to share an opinion about something in a risk free, non-controversial capacity. It became a great exercise in finding and asserting one’s place in a group in a friendly and safe way.
Sales of the dress soared 347% the following day and, Buzzfeed cashed in on the meme with an article that generated almost 3 million views (no word on advertising dollars). Other brands like Legos, Oreo and Crocs Shoes started piggy backing on and, to no surprise, the meme was over as quickly as it arrived.
