#CREATE Bad Luck Brian, Dorky Yearbook Photo Turned Internet Meme Sensation
This dorky blonde guy became a meme in 2012 and since then has not looked back. Brian owes his fame to one of his buddy’s who could not hold back from sharing this picture with the world. Once this photograph came online, the internet took care of the rest and the Bad Luck Brian memes became a thing of beauty. One main reason that Brian has been able to ride this wave and blown it up is simply because he was able to roll with the punches. There was no time where Brian felt like he was intentionally being bullied but he rather accepted that he had gone viral. Based on the amount of attention he was generating, this was the easiest publicity stunt he could have asked for. After all, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Reddit was the source of these memes (of course) and slowly these memes made their way to the social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter whom took it to another level. It was crazy to see just how quick these memes travelled globally and how many people were able to recognize this face.
All this to say, that Bad Luck Brian has definitely become a successful piece of online culture. Today, Brian lives in Ohio and has his own youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/solidbadluck
With over 56,000 subscribers, Brian is looking to carry on his internet fame and develop his own brand into a recognizable public figure. Furthermore, he has his own Facebook Fan page with over 10K likes and has done a Reddit AMA back in 2013 which generated a lot of traction.
Known as a notorious class clown, it is safe to say that this is the most being a class clown has paid off. “He has been asked to let people use his picture for advertisements in Germany, Chile, Poland and Puerto Rico. Here, he has been part of ad campaigns for Volkswagen and RealPlayer. He negotiates all the deals himself.” Not only that but Brian has managed to make a solid amount of money off of merchandise… not bad for being an internet sensational and going viral at age 22. “Between licensing deals and T-shirts, he estimates he’s made between $15,000 and $20,000 off Bad Luck Brian in three years.” (washingtonpost)
In my opinion, Brian did the right thing with his situation. He did not let this simply die down and let everyone forget about it. He made it last as long as he possibly could and took advantage of the possibilities. He managed to monetize his meme for literally doing nothing. He took licensing deals and had merchandise sales to generate some money. If that isn’t leveraging your popularity as a piece of online culture I am not sure what is. His face is now recognized on a few continents and is embedded in this generation’s meme archive which is quite extensive. That is like being in a Hall of Fame for millennials. Class clown turned into meme sensation, is that not a class clown’s dream? Brian made the most of what he was given and managed to create quite the internet footprint for himself and it has paid off. He hardcore capitalized on his meme status and I would say he was a great success considering how long he managed to stay relevant and he trying to follow up with his youtube channel.
