Anthony Shephard Williams shares his views on how memes are reshaping brand narratives, and what the Jet2 meme can teach us when emotional assets go rogue.
Emotional branding can build powerful connections. It can also backfire spectacularly when it becomes the backdrop to someone launching a deckchair into a swimming pool.
Jet2’s “Hold My Hand” campaign has been one of the most recognisable in travel marketing over the past few years – warm, consistent, and sentimentally soundtracked by Jess Glynne. But now, that same soundtrack is trending online – not alongside airport hugs or running hand-in-hand down a beach at sunset, but over footage of real-life holiday chaos.
A man yelling. Becoming increasingly aggressive towards staff when boarding a flight (punches thrown!). A woman in Ibiza throwing sun loungers and any other objects she can get her hands on into the pool. The same feel-good music playing over clips that feel anything but. And while these obviously aren’t official ads, they’re UGC (User generated content) being watched on Instagram, TikTok and many other sites and platforms, by millions.
The result? Jet2 becomes a punchline, even when it’s not at fault.
While the ‘Hold My Hand’ memes are new to the mainstream, this isn’t the first time a holiday or leisure brand has gone viral for negative reasons. Some more examples…
Center Parcs – faced backlash in 2022 after announcing it would evict guests mid-stay to observe the Queen’s funeral. There was an all-out uproar from guests and consumers alike. Social media exploded with memes mocking the decision. They quickly backtracked and reversed the decision.
KFC – when the unthinkable happened; chicken supplies were running very low and some restaurants ran out. As you might remember, the viral memes were coming through thick and fast!
What can and should a brand do?
It is definitely NOT about policing the Internet – but it is about being aware, prepared and having an on-brand point of view when it counts.
- Audit your brand assets – and have a “disaster plan”. If your soundtrack became a meme tomorrow, how would it land?
- Track sentiment, not just mentions -Monitoring tools can surface early signs when brand tone is being co-opted.
- Respond only when it matters -Not everything needs a reaction. But when reach crosses into the millions, a light, self-aware response often works better than silence.
- Reclaim the narrative and own any mistakes – If memes become the mainstream association, brands can counter with new creative that repositions the asset. Think of it as tone correction, not crisis control. KFC were excellent at firing back quickly on this, taking out full page ads in some newspapers showing empty buckets of chicken with crumbs spilling out, switching out the KFC logo, the letters read “FCK”. The British public in particular can be quite forgiving when brands quickly own their mistakes, and show humility and or goodwill in their responses (Aldi have done this very well in recent years when countering legal challenges, for example).
The takeaway?
We all know that emotional branding is extremely powerful. But in a world where content is remixed at speed, it can easily become public property.
Jet2 built a recognisable moment. The internet repurposed it. And now, the brand has to navigate how it lives on in culture, as both a successful holiday favourite and, occasionally, a viral punchline. For marketers, the lesson is clear: if you build such powerful emotional equity as Jet2 managed, you also need a plan for if and when that emotion gets flipped.
