The original Instagram clip shows Islamabad-based Dananeer Mobeen and her friends on a highway and the 19-year-old explains in an American accent: ‘Yeh hamari pawri ho rahi hai.’ It has gone viral, and many brands are now releasing their own memes on this theme to reach younger audiences.
Myntra’s new Twitter bio, for example, reads: “#PawriPeople need to swing in style, and we’ve got you covered for it! Coz everywhere #PawriHoRahiHai.”
Domino’s Pizza in a meme ad said, “Yeh hamara discount code hai, yeh pizza hai aur yeh hamari party ho rahi hai.”
The UP Police meme on the theme on Twitter showed a police patrol van with the caption: “Yeh hum hai aur hamari car hai. Agar late night pawri aapko disturb kar rahi hai toh yeh hamara number hai.”
The post had been retweeted more than 350,000 times and liked more than 12,000 times when we last checked.
Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check team, too, joined the rush by tweeting a meme: “Yeh hamara number hai, yeh hum hai (showing PIB Fact Check logo) aur yahan fake news bust ho rahe hai.”
Memes are particularly popular among teenagers and youngsters many of whom share hundreds of memes while online, giving brands an opportunity to engage with them without spending big.
Brand consultant Harish Bijoor said such videos just need one quirky thing to go viral and in this case, the way Mobeen pronounced “party” could be the trigger. “Memes of these kinds are kicked off by innocuous and innocent videos,” he said. “Brands love to cash in on such viral.”
Mobeen’s video was followed up by another influencer, Yashraj Mukhate, famed for “Rasode mein kaun tha” song, who created a mashup of the viral video.
Oyo, too, has created a meme. “Most trend posts (of Oyo) are created based on two things – one, is it fit for the brand, and two, do we have a good enough post? The moment these two align, we go for it,” said Mayur Hola, head of global brand at Oyo Hotels & Homes.