The New Shape of Storytelling
In the digital age, content that sticks has a new shape. Where the films that shaped the late 19th Century were a meandering climb over Freytag’s pyramid, the 21st Century’s storytelling is deeply intertextual.
The body is now cold and the funeral has been held. Yet, “67” works as a fascinating case study, a glimpse into contemporary storytelling and humor. What makes 67 exceptional is that it is largely, though not entirely, meaningless. The humor and virality of the meme is almost entirely based on its intertextual nature. It is the repetition and frequency of 67 that wove it into elementary school chatter and international conversations.
Pictured above: ZeitHeist’s take on “Loss” (Ctrl+Alt+Del)
A sharp tonal shift from previous work, “Loss,” by cartoonist Tim Buckley spread as an extensively referenced and parodied comic strip. While the tonal intention of the four-panel comic was immediately subverted in initial critiques, the content of the panel fell away as parodies and intertextual allusions to the meme grew more and more abstract. Eventually, the humor of the meme was, similarly to 67, the virality itself. This controversial comic had been diffused and reiterated so widely and frequently that it could be recognized as only a set of 7 lines in four panels. Both “67” and “Loss” offer advertisers a glimpse into the nature of Internet humor. Memes are deeply intertextual. And thus, much modern comedic storytelling is meant to be a widely-known inside joke.
Creatives and professionals who don’t understand the storytelling and humor of generational niches within the digital landscape will have a hard time camouflaging within social media algorithms. There is no slang dictionary or trend list that can make an ad indistinguishable from the entertainment content native to the platform. Internet storytelling is more akin to subcultures than genre. The inner circle is earned by a way of living and cannot be convincingly reconstructed.
What does this mean for advertisers vying for Gen Z’s attention? One, brands interested in gaining the affinity of younger generations need a translator. Gen Z speaks a language all their own. Hire a younger creative who is immersed in the content webs you would like your brand messaging to be within. Two, advertising hoping to compete in the attention economy get as close as possible to what content is native to their audience’s feed. Pulling this off requires a great deal of social listening and most likely some trial and error. Creators with a dedicated following go a long way here. Three, creatives wanting to relevance with younger generations should aim to see storytelling as the large and ever-evolving network it is. Trend content cannot be planned months or even weeks in advance. See every viral joke or video as a thread within a larger tapestry rather than a standalone work.
Creating original content that understands the nature of the social landscape is more compelling than an attempt to piggyback off of a long-expired trend.
