BUT ALAS!
Today's entry is lighthearted and really has nothing to do with advertising other than the fact that it was an article in Ad Age. The topic: LOLcats.
Oh that's right!, the online phenomena which has lovingly filled many a google search for me over the years has made it into advertising trade publications. I opened my Ad Age email to find the following sub-head: Theyz In Ur Ad Budjit, Steelin Ur Dolarz. I then proceeded to laugh for a good 20 minutes, two of my loves, advertising and silly internet humor united as one. Why did Ad Age feel the need to embrace Lolcats? I'm not quite sure, but I'm glad they did. It just goes to show the true impact of the internet and viral content in today's world.
Now for any of you out there in internet land who might be completely lost....
I present to you, useless knowledge you need to know according to Kristin: lolcatz edition.
I was introduced to the world of lolcatz by a dear friend who sent me a picture to brighten my day. This image captured my heart and has remained to this day my favorite lolcat: Invisible bike!
I feel that invisible bike captures the heart of lolcats....which is simply: take picture of cat, insert funny line.However there is more to understanding lolcats than meets the eye.
For instance, many lolcat photos rely on leet-speak. To fully understand the humor of lolcats you need to at least somewhat understand leet.
Leet, or 1337, is a internet slang deriving from the description of hackers as elite, which often used in chat rooms and online gaming. Letters are replaced by numbers and words are abbreviated and commonly mispelled. ie: lol, brb, omg, ftl, ur, w00t, and plenty of other words/expressions found in Lolcats!
Lolcats often feature geek humor such as IT, internet, and video game references
But there's even more...
Many lolcats depend on the formula of "I'm in ur (noun)(verb ending in ing) ur (noun)"
Huh?....Think:"I'm in your base killing your d00ds"
This was the origin of the saying, beginning with an online game like Counterstrike, Red Alert, or Starcraft (the exact origin is debated). Basically while one player was out of their base, another snuck in and attacked, announcing "I'm in your base, killing your d00ds"
Quickly this became the shortened leet of "Im in ur base killin ur d00ds" and then blazed into internet glory with many parodies including, of course, lolcats.
I even have a parody over my fireplace....
A wonderful print done by Married to the Sea reading, "Im in your mountains transporting your passengers"
Still confused? Scroll down for more examples, try visiting icanhasacheezburger, or doing a flickr search.
And so there it is.....Lolcats. Pictures of cats with funny sayings.
Is it advertising? I dont think so.
Is it funny? I definitely find it to be.
Is it a prime example of viral phenomena? Oh yes!
I guess just another one of those things you either get or you don't.
More "in ur" fun:
oh and of course...
no cats, but a brilliant combo of kevin spacey, super-lore, and the caption of "omg spoiler alert"
