Last Friday, a tornado hit Cunupia, blowing off the roofs of the homes of several residents. Four friends were caught in the twister and recorded a video to document their experience.
The resulting video was shared two days later (on Sunday 1 September at 8.58pm) on the popular Wa Chubble is Dis Facebook page. Entitled Trinis Get Caught in Tornado, the video spread rapidly over the Facebook ecosystem, receiving 2,152 likes, 4,894 shares and 1,200 comments within 4 days. A day later, the Facebook Fanpage Finding Redman was born.
Trinis Get Caught in Tornado
The jerky handheld footage, the spectacle of nature at its most terrifying, and the repeated desperate screams for the inexplicably-MIA Redman, captured the attention of the local social media audience. The video seemed to be a humourously horrifying smash up of Twister and The Blair Witch Project.
As a culture saturated in picong, ole talk and backchat, it wasn’t long before Trinibagonians gave their take on the video by producing creative and humourous memes. We’ve compiled the most popular memes, with an accompanying notes on their origins:
The Rock Driving
What could be more frightening than the sudden realisation you’ve left Redman? According to Know Your Meme, this meme originated from the family film “The Race to Witch Mountain” and is used to express shock over a startling revelation.
One Does Not Simply
This meme quotes a line from the wildly-popular Lord of the Rings movie series. As Boromir solemnly intones, One does not simply walk into Mordor, nor does one, it seems, simply leave Redman.
Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That
On the other hand, there were Trinbagonians who felt that Ain’t Nobody Got Time to wait on Redman, when a Tornado hits, it’s every man for himself. The meme originated from an interview with Sweet Brown, a woman who emphatically recounted her experience of evacuating a home that was ablaze.
The Hunt is On
One of a handful of local references, this image features colourful TV personality, Ian Alleyne, who’s self-appointed job it is to right all wrongs and find that which was lost. The creator of the image also gives a sly nod to Trini’s typical mispronunciation of the word film.
Keep Calm and Carry On
Originally appearing on a World War II British public safety poster, the phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” resurfaced in 2000 after the poster was hung in a bookshop. The stiff-upper-lip message spread online. This meme was appropriated by local TV station CNC3 to build anticipation for its interview of the missing Redman himself.
Like Pigeon
This new meme quotes Redman himself, subsequent to his interview. Redman must be an undercover scribe to think up such vivid imagery, in such a succinct sentence. With 710 likes, we wonder if there will be appropriations in the future.
Lessons from Redman
So, what can marketers learn from Redman? As can be seen by popular local Facebook pages like Wa Chubble is Dis, the Cows Now Waking Up and even pages from around the world like the one dedicated to Pippa Middleton’s rear end, humour wins on social media.
Maintaining an impersonal corporate identity will not work, even if you’re a news station, brands must demonstrate some personality through warmth and humour.
Are you incorporating humour in your social media marketing? Will you be among the first to find a pun or quip in an unexpected local event and post it online?