Google Research Proves It’s Gonna Be May
By Amy Wheaton & Stephanie McGrath
Every year around this time, we like to roast this old chestnut over the open fire of trends.
“It’s gonna be May!” we cry with glee. Then we show you this hilarious Justin Timberlake gif right here on this blog.
But with everything going completely bananas, we found ourselves wondering this year “is it, actually, gonna be May? And if so, will anyone care?”
Guess what?
It is and they do. Behold evidence that some facts remain the same — some universal truths are still true.
Just how powerful is this trending topic during these dark days?
Well … not as powerful as “baking bread” or “banana bread”.
Or Zoom.
Ditto Animal Crossing.
According to Know Your Meme, the phenomenon started in 2012, when a fan posted a picture of Justin Timberlake with the caption “It’s Gonna Be May” on Tumblr. The post was made on January 29, 2012, not in April — but since then, it’s become a yearly tradition as May approaches.
Then we went into a Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC rabbit hole.
Too bad, JT, you’ve been bested, probably because of that sweet Zoom BSB did several weeks ago.
And then the rabbit hole kept going and we saw that Britney outshines Christina.
We were curious about this year’s “It’s Gonna Be May” search volume versus last year. Are people more or less excited about May as they were in a pre-pandemic world? Turns out, it being May is but a blip on the radar during quarantimes. We refuse to believe this meme is just played out. Don’t worry, we won’t let it fade away.
Anyway, in conclusion, it’s gonna be May, but just please don’t ask us what day of the week it is right now.
Steph is the VP of Strategy and Amy is the Director of Marketing with VERB Interactive — a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
