Hype done right, one shitpost at a time ❤
If you’re not a fan of Rick and Morty by now, you’re in the wrong place — I’m sorry buddy, but your internet is THAT WAY!
Everyone else: Don’t worry, I got that weenie outta here. How awesome was the season three premiere?! Hooooooo boy. What made it so much sweeter was the fact that it came on April Fool’s, the exact day we would expect the rug to be pulled out from under our feet. I didn’t believe it at first, until a friend messaged me and said he watched the premiere himself with his eyeballs. I was still ready to label him a liar until Google confirmed that this was, indeed, not a fool. I had an even tougher time convincing another friend of mine that it was real myself. Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, the rest of the R&M team, and Adult Swim pulled off a masterful reverse psychology troll that sent fans around the world into a panicky sweat.
It was too good to be true, but damn, it was true.
What made the premiere so special was the fact that for months before, all of Rick and Morty’s social media platforms — Facebook page, Twitter handle, Instagram account, Youtube comments, and subreddit alike — were slowly turning into overflowing virtual dumpsters of fan anxiety. People were wondering where season 3 was, and they expressed this concern in the form of aggressive comments and low-grade memes. “Shitposts”, so to speak. If you followed Rick and Morty on any of its accounts, you probably saw a number of shitposts that looked something like this:
It was a drought. Viewers were growing delirious, fidgeting and twitching, as they held on for season 3. R&M’s social media presence was so successful to the point that accounts were imploding from these blue-balled fans, and this wasn’t just because the show was awesome. It was because the social media and marketing teams were doing their damn jobs, stirring the pot and keeping these people hungry while the show’s writers and animators were slaving away in the basements.
As a fan of the once-hype anime series, Attack on Titan (whose second season finally launched the same day as the R&M premiere but who cares), I’ll tell you this: you can only shout out into the abyss for so long without hearing anything back. If it was just typical press releases and teasers, R&M’s social media could only ride so far off the momentum of the show before things would grind to a halt. Thankfully, they knew better. As we’ve were taught so early on in #RTA902, social media succeeds when it tells a story. This applies to brands just as easily as individuals, and one thing is for certain: the best stories are those of co-ownership. Successful social media wizards don’t just acknowledge their fan bases. They interact, nourish the culture, and push the conversation forward. In the case of R&M — a witty, crass, pop culture infused show — this meant trolling the hell out of fans, while also giving lots of fun things to tide them over with too.
The season 3 hype train was fueled on all fronts. Ch-ch-oo-BURP- choo! First stop, Youtube!
Adult Swim’s YouTube channel hosts all kind of R&M content, like the fiendishly troll video posted above. While season 2 was airing, it was a place for fans to check out sneak previews and clips of episodes, but in the interim between two and three it became a wonderful hub for all kinds of R&M original content. Drawing inspiration from all corners of pop culture, fans had access to a steady stream of video content reminding them that the show hadn’t really gone anywhere — the episodes were just being made, so quit your whining! This is a wonderful trend you see across all of their accounts. While the show itself was obviously the core product, the IP had expanded well beyond that. No need for recycled clips or lame teasers here. While none of the OC had the same level of polish or length as the show (cause then why aren’t you just making the damn show), it was all delightfully hilarious and on brand.
Case and point: The shockingly professional court transcript of the State of Georgia Vs. Denver Fenton Allen, V.O’d by Justin Roiland.
R&M’s Instagram page is used as more of a point of interaction with fans. It’s also fun-filled place for memes, of course. Like the YouTube page, there are heartwarming clips/pictures of OC like the one posted above, but fan-made content and pictures comprise about half of the page. R&M fans are loud and proud, out there in the real world, so this has become a spot to showcase some of the neat stuff they’ve done. In a way, its kind of like shitposting… but without the shit.
Don’t trip, I’m not done yet! I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Rickstaverse, R&M’s shot at making a damn vidjagame on Instagram. Kind of like a picture based choose-you-own-adventure game, you can explore spaces in the show’s universe and hunt for hidden treasures (more funny OC). As far as games go… It’s an Instagram game, but they built an impressively deep rabbit hole of connected images. If anything, you’ve got to appreciate the originality on display here. Things like this just go to show the amount of resources being put into the show, with multiple teams of people working in parallel to keep fans engaged and entertained.
And you know I’d be really remiss if I didn’t even mention Pocket Mortys! While technically not social media, this shameless-but-surprisingly-well-done Pokemon clone is yet another example of content dropped into the laps of R&M’s spoiled fans. This mobile game really speaks to the show’s understanding of its audience; R&M’s success owes itself to a lot of things, but two of those things are definitely pop culture and nostalgia. I can say, with about a 90% chance of certainty, that the exact same people who were playing the OG Pokemon games back in the 90’s are among the audience raving about the show now. Between an affinity for videogames and old-school cartoons, Pocket Mortys is the kind of gesture that just shows they get it. And they get it good — the app absolutely tore up both the Google Play and IOS charts.
R&M’s Facebook page is mostly just home base for the great OC seen on their other platforms, but its also where you can see a lot of fan shitposting begin to burst through. The dynamics are different than that of Instagram or Youtube: given people’s propensity to give comments and likes, simply providing a steady content of content is enough to have one-liners and quotes start shooting rapid-fire. They’re nourishing the culture for sure, but its hard to say that the conversation is being pushed anywhere here. For the most part, fans are content with just bandwagoning and complaining, which is fine too I suppose.
It’s not all comments like these, but you do see them a lot. People get antsy! And when you don’t have a whole lot going on, you make comments about it. Like every other sane social media manager, the R&M page rarely engaged this kind of stuff. What was the point? It’s a unique situation where you know they aren’t actually mad. They’re going to rip through the first episode as soon as its out, then start begging for more again. Isn’t hysteria the most flattering form of hype?
Wait no, that’s a shout out by Waka Flocka. My man!
Of all R&M’s social media accounts, I’d have to say its Twitter is the most bumpin’. For one, you could see just how far the show has reached across the Twitterverse. Still plenty of shitposting in the replies, but at least you get to see your favorite celebrities and brands fanboy/girl over the show too. Best of all, the 140 character limit was perfect for the show’s sarcastic, snappy dialogue, and random nonsense. Many posts were made in the voice of the show’s very own loveable bastard, Rick Sanchez.
If anything, Twitter is the perfect place to showcase the show’s irreverent, ‘don’t-give-a-hoot’ kind of humour. It became the defacto spot for the show’s producers, writers, and animators to share their thoughts and behind-the-scenes lives:
And speaking of brand interactions earlier: given how popular the show has become with audiences world wide, R&M has built up the cultural influence to directly communicate and spread its hilarity with some of the biggest corporations in the world. In season 2, they called out Nintendo in a desperate plea to get free games:
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
In a masterful display of planned content, R&M has now set its sights on a bigger prize. Two decades ago, McDonald’s released a promotional Szechuan-flavoured dipping sauce for McNuggets as a tie-in with Disney’s Mulan. Apparently it was pretty good, because the season 3 premiere revealed that being reunited with that sauce is Rick’s entire life purpose. With the frenzy of die-hard fans amped about the season premiere, and a remake of Mulan set to release in 2018… Things escalated quickly.
McNugga?When you manage to get McDonalds to tweet some vaguely racist sounding nonsense, it’s a good time to take a step back and realize just how powerful R&M has become. Yes, the show is incredible. But just the show on its own wouldn’t have been enough to amass the heaping pile of shitposts currently stinking up the web. R&M’s social media has had a magical effect on its fans worldwide: it gave them the license to go wild. By giving the world a steady stream of content — a perpetual tease — across all of its social media platforms, it was able to sustain a level of hype that never died in the downtime between the show’s second and third seasons. Which was, by the way, almost two years ago. R&M’s social media team is playing the game like an absolute boss: its got fans at their mercy, a hit mobile game under its belt, and a massive multinational corporation that’s going to be sweating balls if they don’t have Szechuan sauce on the menu by 2018.
With the season three premiere dropping so recently, the shitposts have simmered down for a while. But they’ll be roaring again as we move towards the summer, because the whole internet — myself included — can’t wait for some more good ol’ Rick and Morty.
What’s your opinion on Rick and Morty’s overwhelming social media presence? How stoked are you for season 3? Let me know in the comments below!
