A Left Shark Empire
The Superbowl is more than just a football game. It’s a staple in North American culture that has many people watching all across the globe. What this means is that it’s the perfect place for a meme to be created. From Lady Gaga jumping off the roof to “Unflattering Beyonce”, the Superbowl is not only just a football game, but a meme making event. Now let me ask, what do you think of when someone says Superbowl 2015? Would you know who won? Or how about who played? Probably not, unless you are a die-hard sports fan. Now what about if someone mentioned Left Shark?
I am sure all of us can recall the moment during Katy Perry’s half time show when two cartoonish looking sharks came on stage as her backing dancers, with left shark taking his own route with the set choreography. His off-beat dance moves were easily the highlight of the entire halftime show. You might not have even watched the performance, but you’ve still heard about Left Shark. It quickly became an internet meme, and even Snoop Dogg was talking about it.
Left Shark quickly turned into a macro meme. People were quickly spreading around Left Shark with a witty caption of their own…
It didn’t take Perry long to realize the opportunity she had. She quickly recognized her meme status and not only capitalized off of it, but she adopted left shark as a part of her brand. Three years later Perry remains integrating Left Shark into her career endeavours and continues to capitalize off of the meme.
Just a few days following the half time show, Perry’s lawyers were sending out cease and desist letters to online vendors creating Left Shark sculptures. Clearly setting Perry up with the best possible environment to begin turning Left Shark into a money making machine. Within a month of her Superbowl performance, she was selling Left Shark Onesies on her website. Fans could buy the full one-piece suit that looked fairly similar to the costumes, with “Katy Perry” printed bolded and centred across the back. The costume costed $129.99 USD each, but if that was too much, fans could opt for a Left Shark T-Shirt instead for $25. There is no doubt she was taking the opportunity to capitalize off her meme status.Fast forward a couple more months to July 2015, five months since Left Shark first surfaces. It’s Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week and Perry resurrects the meme and announces the release of the Left Shark phone case. She definitely was not letting this meme die.Now since the fall of 2017 Perry has been touring across North America on “Witness the Tour”. Can you guess who made an appearance? None other than Left Shark himself (not to mention she is still selling those onesies and t-shirts at each tour stop too).
Left Shark is not just a meme anymore. It is now a part of the Katy Perry brand. Perry and her team have successfully integrated Left Shark as a character into her musical career. Her lawyers’ quick response to lawfully protect her intellectual property allowed for Perry to be in full control of the character. Making costumes allowed for a unique way to interact with and participate in meme culture, and of course giving Perry the ability to get a return off of it. Perry continues to capitalize off of the meme 3 years down the road. Although Left Shark’s online popularity has died down online, Perry will surely keep him alive for many years to come.
