Hot on the whole Internet, why is “city or not city” so popular?

“Are you city-like or not?” “Are you city-like or not” became popular on the Internet overnight, but what is the reason behind it?

Suddenly, the screen was flooded with the words "city or not".

Recently, the topic #Finally I know what is city and what is not# has once again been on the Weibo hot search list, generating over 190 million reads, 47,000 discussions, and over 250,000 interactions.

1. What’s the meaning of city or not?

What exactly is "city or not city"?

This meme originated from a foreign blogger named "Bao Bao Xiong". It was originally a magical conversation between the blogger and his sister during their travels in China. Coupled with the accent, the phrase "city or not city" amused netizens and pushed "city or not city" to the top of the trending searches. Afterwards, the blogger personally explained what "city or not city" meant, which brought it to the top of the trending searches again.

Because the sound is too magical and brainwashing, "city is not city ah" has been imitated by many netizens. With the promotion of netizens, "city is not city ah" has evolved into a synonym for urbanization, foreign style, novelty, delicious food, and fun shopping. It has even become an adjective for "exciting".

At the same time, well-known artists such as Richie Jen and Ada Choi have also joined the ranks of playing with the memes and released related videos, further promoting the popularity of "city or not city".

At present, the hot topic of "city or not city" has been widely used in the marketing circle. For example, "Hello Saturday" borrowed the hot topic of the Internet to play topic marketing, established the Weibo topic #你好星期焕新官宣城市不城市# , and spread it through the interaction between the official Weibo and celebrities, generating more than 120 million readings. This way of communication not only aroused the audience's attention to the program, but also injected fresh and fashionable vitality into it, and also made its marketing method a "conspicuous package" on social media.

Driven by multiple factors, the new meme has become more popular on the Internet, resulting in many hot searches such as #City Meme Active Application Competition#, #citynotcity #, and #What is city or notcity# , which has also brought the "city or notcity" meme to a new height.

Whether it is the promotion of variety shows, the dissemination of celebrity materials, or the activities of netizens on the Internet, "city or not city" is present. The fact that "city or not city" is flooding the entire network also makes people want to dig deeper into the traffic code behind this hot effect.

2. Why has “city not city” become the new trend?

Looking deeper into the popular phenomenon, in the beginning, "city or not city" was an interaction between blogger Bao Bao Xiong and his sister, and a small-scale meme between netizens and bloggers. But now "city or not city" has really become popular on the Internet, and has become the object of pursuit by celebrities, KOLs, variety shows, and 5G surfing netizens. It has also made it accepted in a small range and realized the meme of the whole people, making #city or not city# and #finally know what is city or not city# successively on the hot search list and amplified the effect of the hot meme.

1. From a niche topic to a meme used by everyone, why has "city or not city" become a new trend?

The popularity of "city or not city" on social media is one of the manifestations of the public following the trend of playing memes. In the fast-paced life and work, playing memes is regarded by the public as an entertaining lifestyle. Because it is simple to understand, easy to imitate, and has a certain sense of humor, it has become an important way for workers in the workplace to fight against internal circulation, joke about lying flat, and express protest.

As the number of participants increased, the herd mentality led to countless followers, which further increased the popularity of the online meme "city or not city", and made this hot topic seem to be on a hot wheel from June to July. In addition to the herd mentality at the user level, there are three other factors that are driving "city or not city" to become a new trend.

First, from the perspective of foreign friends, we can see the charm of Chinese cities. The communication between blogger Bao Bao Xiong and his sister on the short video platform is popular among the public because of his humorous expression. The deeper reason is that the "China Travel" videos of foreign friends traveling in China reproduce their scenes of checking in, eating, drinking and having fun, and also show the style of Chinese cities in a humorous way, which inspires the public's cultural self-confidence.

In the context of globalization, international exchanges and communications are becoming increasingly frequent, and cultural shocks and collisions are becoming more obvious. From the perspective of foreign friends, we have seen a different Chinese history, culture, food, and scenery. In addition to breaking the prejudice of foreigners against China, it has attracted many people to check in, allowing us to see the beauty and uniqueness of Chinese culture. This has undoubtedly increased the pride and self-confidence of the Chinese people, and made them love their own culture more.

Secondly, the simple and unique expression has achieved cross-cultural resonance. Checking in and posting photos during travel is one of the habits of contemporary consumers during travel. Bao Bao Xiong and his sister playing in front of the camera convey the warmth of family affection and show their novel experience. The mix of Chinese and English makes the exaggerated expressions and movements of the two people full of comedy effects. This simple and unique way of expression has brought a novel experience to the public, formed a new online cultural phenomenon, and is also deeply loved by the public.
In addition, creating and playing with memes has long become a way for netizens to vent their emotions, create secondary works, and entertain themselves. In the entertainment era, consumers use humorous ways to express their opinions and convey their emotions. At the same time, people also vent their emotions through self-deprecation or irony, which also makes the "city or not city" memes spread quickly.

3. New insights behind the trend: the end of playing with memes is emotion

New trends emerge because new insights and new trends emerge. The reason why everyone is playing with memes is because "city or not city" has aroused the public's emotions. In other words, it is the emotional value that drives the popularity of memes.

On the one hand, "city or not city" hits the contemporary people's demands for personalization, entertainment, and socialization.

Industry involution, competition involution, life involution... those personalized expressions and entertaining content are, to some extent, important elements of people's social interaction. Therefore, the "hot" Internet memes have become a way for people to show their personality, expand their circle of friends, socialize, and entertain themselves. The popularity of "city or not city" obviously accurately hits the public's multiple demands for popularity and personality.

On the other hand, focusing on emotions can stimulate the audience's enthusiasm for communication.

In recent years, crazy literature and meme culture have become increasingly popular, which is also one of the ways for people to release their nature. At the same time, playing with memes is also a reflection of cultural diversity, and it is also an expression of public emotions and responses on the Internet. The public also shows their own lifestyles through self-entertainment, which not only arouses people's enthusiasm for communication, but also forms a phenomenon of the whole people participating in playing with memes, which also promotes the further spread and popularity of hot memes.

4. Write to the end

With the popularity and development of the Internet, the public's preferences and tendencies always change with the changes in Internet hot spots. The extensive participation of users also means new traffic for brands. The popularity of the Internet hot topic "city or not city" provides brands with an effective way to get close to young consumers, and brands can also use this to renew themselves and inject new vitality into themselves.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War" (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)

This article is authorized by @銷兵法 to be published on 運動派. Any reproduction without permission is prohibited.

The title image is from Unsplash, based on the CC0 agreement