Apple

2013recurring event memeclassic

Apple isn't a single meme so much as a recurring source of them, with each product launch spawning jokes that flood Twitter and Reddit for days. The pattern locked in on June 10, 2013, when the cylindrical Mac Pro drew endless comparisons to trashcans, deodorant cans and Darth Vader's helmet.

tech humor memesconsumer culture memesobject labelingphotoshop memessilicon valley satire memes

Overview

Apple Inc. is the American electronics company behind the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, and a reliable engine of internet jokes whenever it holds a keynote1. Product reveals draw millions of live viewers, and any oddity in an event, whether a strangely shaped device or a developer's fashion choice, gets clipped, screenshotted and remixed within minutes2.

The output tends to follow a pattern. A slick promotional image drops, Twitter compares it to something absurd, Redditors photoshop it into cartoons and film stills, and by dinnertime a tech blog has aggregated the best jokes into a listicle1. This cycle has repeated at Apple keynotes for over a decade, turning the Cupertino company into one of the internet's most dependable joke generators alongside its actual products3.

Apple's status as a target is helped by the enormous fan following the BBC once described as being "whipped up into an evangelical frenzy" during filming for its Secrets of the Superbrands documentary4. The passion of the fanbase makes any misstep, from ugly icons to weird packaging, feel like a betrayal worth roasting.

How It Spread

Every subsequent keynote produced its own viral moment. On September 9, 2014, Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, both physically larger than the 4-inch iPhone 5S they replaced5. Despite the hardware news, most of the online chatter zeroed in on an unnamed developer wearing a purple infinity scarf during the livestream6. A parody account called @KeynoteScarf appeared within an hour and pulled over 200 followers before the day ended6. BuzzFeed and Mashable both wrote it up the same afternoon, and the #scarfguy hashtag caught on, with tweets comparing the developer to Lenny Kravitz and Kim Kardashian7.

The same event introduced the first Apple Watch, which Twitter promptly mocked under the #iWatch hashtag more than 54,000 times in 24 hours3. Apple's own missteps added fuel. In September 2012 the iPhone 5 shipped with an in-house Maps app riddled with misplaced towns and missing landmarks, forcing spokeswoman Trudy Muller to publicly promise the tool would "improve"8. Two years later the company auto-delivered U2's album Songs of Innocence to every iTunes account, an unrequested download Wired called a "monumental blunder" that read more like spam than a gift9.

The pattern held into 2017. At WWDC on June 5, Apple debuted the HomePod, a squat mesh-covered speaker meant to compete with the Amazon Echo and Google's assistant3. Twitter immediately compared it to a spool of yarn and, once again, a roll of toilet paper, and The Daily Dot rounded up the jokes the same day3. By this point the joke-first response was baked into how people watched Apple events.

How to Use This Meme

The template is loose. Watch an Apple keynote live, screenshot any product or presenter that looks slightly off, and tweet a comparison to a household object, sci-fi villain, or bathroom item. The best takes get boosted by tech aggregators within hours, and photoshop artists commonly remix the official press photos into cartoon scenes or Star Wars crossovers. A parody Twitter account devoted to a single joke, like @KeynoteScarf, is often part of the ritual.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apple

2013recurring event memeclassic

Apple isn't a single meme so much as a recurring source of them, with each product launch spawning jokes that flood Twitter and Reddit for days. The pattern locked in on June 10, 2013, when the cylindrical Mac Pro drew endless comparisons to trashcans, deodorant cans and Darth Vader's helmet.

tech humor memes consumer culture memes object labeling photoshop memes silicon valley satire memes

Overview

Apple Inc. is the American electronics company behind the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, and a reliable engine of internet jokes whenever it holds a keynote1. Product reveals draw millions of live viewers, and any oddity in an event, whether a strangely shaped device or a developer's fashion choice, gets clipped, screenshotted and remixed within minutes2.

The output tends to follow a pattern. A slick promotional image drops, Twitter compares it to something absurd, Redditors photoshop it into cartoons and film stills, and by dinnertime a tech blog has aggregated the best jokes into a listicle1. This cycle has repeated at Apple keynotes for over a decade, turning the Cupertino company into one of the internet's most dependable joke generators alongside its actual products3.

Apple's status as a target is helped by the enormous fan following the BBC once described as being "whipped up into an evangelical frenzy" during filming for its Secrets of the Superbrands documentary4. The passion of the fanbase makes any misstep, from ugly icons to weird packaging, feel like a betrayal worth roasting.

How It Spread

Every subsequent keynote produced its own viral moment. On September 9, 2014, Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, both physically larger than the 4-inch iPhone 5S they replaced5. Despite the hardware news, most of the online chatter zeroed in on an unnamed developer wearing a purple infinity scarf during the livestream6. A parody account called @KeynoteScarf appeared within an hour and pulled over 200 followers before the day ended6. BuzzFeed and Mashable both wrote it up the same afternoon, and the #scarfguy hashtag caught on, with tweets comparing the developer to Lenny Kravitz and Kim Kardashian7.

The same event introduced the first Apple Watch, which Twitter promptly mocked under the #iWatch hashtag more than 54,000 times in 24 hours3. Apple's own missteps added fuel. In September 2012 the iPhone 5 shipped with an in-house Maps app riddled with misplaced towns and missing landmarks, forcing spokeswoman Trudy Muller to publicly promise the tool would "improve"8. Two years later the company auto-delivered U2's album Songs of Innocence to every iTunes account, an unrequested download Wired called a "monumental blunder" that read more like spam than a gift9.

The pattern held into 2017. At WWDC on June 5, Apple debuted the HomePod, a squat mesh-covered speaker meant to compete with the Amazon Echo and Google's assistant3. Twitter immediately compared it to a spool of yarn and, once again, a roll of toilet paper, and The Daily Dot rounded up the jokes the same day3. By this point the joke-first response was baked into how people watched Apple events.

How to Use This Meme

The template is loose. Watch an Apple keynote live, screenshot any product or presenter that looks slightly off, and tweet a comparison to a household object, sci-fi villain, or bathroom item. The best takes get boosted by tech aggregators within hours, and photoshop artists commonly remix the official press photos into cartoon scenes or Star Wars crossovers. A parody Twitter account devoted to a single joke, like @KeynoteScarf, is often part of the ritual.

Frequently Asked Questions