History Main / ForcedMeme

* In "Film/NeverBeenKissed" one of the popular kids declares that 'rufus' is now the word everyone will use to signal they like something. It catches on, with even Josie adopting it sincerely by the end of the movie.

* Music/JenniferLopez was mocked for trying to make the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" Challenge go viral for the song's 20th Anniversary. Her video with the hashtag #LoveDontCostAThingChallenge showed her walking along a beach and throwing her jewelry, jacket, etc. into the sand. Not only was the pandemic-era timing bad, but people were reluctant to throw their valuables into sand to celebrate a song that was twenty years old.

* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode featuring ''Film/OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank'', Crow attempts this with the catchphrase "You know you want me, baby!", as he had ordered two million T-shirts with the phrase on it. Mike points out that he's never said this before, despite Crow's insistence that he had. Crow and Tom attempt to get Mike to do his own catchphrase, but fail... [[HypocriticalHumor then think he's failing harder when he says "Pearl's calling"]], which he ''does'' say every episode in the Sci-Fi era. Ironically, these T-shirts are actually for sale. The whole gag comes from Best Brains ordering a set of T-shirts with one of Crow's ''actual'' catchphrases ("Bite me!"), but getting a set with "You know you want me, baby!" instead.

* Website/TikTok isn't exempt from this, either, with short-lived trends and "challenges" that are seldom known outside the platform.

* In the final episode of the sketch comedy ''Series/RoundHouse'', one of the casts' attempts to keep the show from being cancelled is to make "Machine wash warm, tumble dry" a hot new catchphrase.

** Established entries also suffer from this, as each user tries to increase exposure for his or her favorite meme, and create tons of filler and related posts.

** Occasionally someone tries to sneak his or her idea for a meme on to a page, sometimes going so far as to interfere with other entries to force them into the limelight.

!Examples

* ''Creator/JoelHaver'' made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ40jNXMDlk skit]] in which he tries and epically fails to make the phrase "insano style" a worldwide catchphrase.

* In May 2017, a mixture of trolls and right-wing types on Website/{{Twitter}}, (and other social media platforms) who were tired of younger left-wing users comparing current global politics to ''Literature/HarryPotter'' tried to parody the phenomenon with "Orcposting": screencaps from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' with captions mocking multiculturalism and globalism (and left-wing politics in general) by comparing Middle Earth orcs to Muslim refugees. It briefly trended on Twitter and Website/FourChan before fading into obscurity. Attempts to revive the meme to coincide with the 2023 release of ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' failed.

* In May 2017, a mixture of trolls and right-wing types on Website/{{Twitter}} (and other social media platforms), who were tired of younger left-wing users comparing current global politics to ''Literature/HarryPotter'', tried to parody the phenomenon by popularizing "Orcposting": screencaps from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' with captions mocking multiculturalism and globalism (and left-wing politics in general) by drawing comparisons between Middle-earth orcs and refugees from the Islamic world. It briefly trended on Twitter and Website/FourChan before fading into obscurity.

* Music/JenniferLopez was mocked for trying to make the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" Challenge go viral for the song's 20th Anniversary. Her video with the hashtag #LoveDontCostAThingChallenge showed her walking along a beach and throwing her jewelry, jacket, etc. into the sand. Not only was the pandemic-lockdown timing bad, but people were reluctant to throw their valuables into sand to celebrate a song that was twenty years old.

* Music\Jennifer Lopez was mocked for trying to make the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" Challenge go viral for the song's 20th Anniversary. Her video with the hashtag #LoveDontCostAThingChallenge showed her walking along a beach and throwing her jewelry, jacket, etc. into the sand.