By Hannah Cooke, Head of Strategy at Charlie Oscar
The internet has a mind of its own – and lately, it seems to have turned its attention to Jet2 Holidays.
Unless you’ve been off-grid, you’ll have seen the content flooding social feeds: comparisons between luxury events like Cannes and a package holiday to Benidorm, all under the banner of a Jet2 getaway.
Even actor Jeff Goldblum has jumped in with a cheeky ‘Jeff2’ pun.
I’ve never been on a Jet2 holiday. Yet I now feel intimately familiar with Jet2’s branding, plane interiors, and apparently, the superior quality of a 3-star Spanish hotel over a Croisette soirée.
While these posts may be driven by satire, they raise a serious question for brands: What should you do when you become the centre of a cultural moment – uninvited?
Whether it’s lighthearted memeification or full-blown backlash, today’s brands are operating in a high-speed, hyper-exposed environment.
A moment that starts on TikTok can spiral into mainstream attention within hours. And in that window, how a brand reacts (or doesn’t) can have a lasting impact.
Riding the Meme wave – or not?
Brand safety used to mean staying out of controversy. ‘The least said the soonest mended’ as the proverb goes. But, in today’s brand landscape silence is not always the best option.
Being absent from the conversation can look like being out of touch. And if you don’t respond – you risk missing the cultural moment entirely.
It’s now about knowing how to navigate those uninvited moments.
Social listening isn’t optional. You need to know what’s being said about you before you decide whether (or how) to respond. Equally important is an understanding that not all virality is equal.
To make sense of how, and when, to act, we can break down “going viral” into three categories:
Organic Satire (e.g. Jet2): This is where people are having fun with your brand. You may not have sparked it, but you’re not being dragged either. It feels light, memetic, and even nostalgic.
The response? Monitor sentiment, consider joining in (Aldi-style), but don’t over-engineer it. Let the community drive.
Critical Backlash (e.g., LUSH): Now we’re in crisis territory. The internet isn’t joking — they’re angry, and the brand is the target.
The response? Swift and human. Acknowledge, explain, act. This is reputation management 101. Every hour of silence amplifies risk.
Campaign Failure (e.g., influencer misfires, tone-deaf content): Think of when a branded campaign completely misses the mark or fails to resonate. Worse still if it causes offense.
The response? Pull back, regroup, and, importantly, listen. Internal post-mortems are vital, but external transparency can save face.
Don’t outsource responsibility to creators. If your influencer campaign goes rogue or feels off-brand, that’s on you. Briefing, vetting, and aligning on values matters.
And learn from your mistakes. Any agency worth its salt will be well-versed in the strategy of ‘test before you launch’. The best protection against campaign blowback is brutal honesty before publishing. Run the content past diverse teams. Pre-mortem it.
And what happens if you do say nothing?
Sometimes, silence is smart. Other times, it feels like indifference.
Positive Memes (like Jet2): It’s likely to be okay to let them play out. But I’d argue that there are bonus brand points if you jump in with wit. Total silence, when the moment is this loud and positive, feels like a missed brand-building opportunity.
Jet2’s decision to do just that – despite being handed a viral spotlight – suggests either a lack of internal agility, fear of getting the tone wrong, or a default to caution over creativity.
Some of the most effective brand responses we’ve seen in the last few years come down to tone and timing.
Aldi has built its entire social personality around wit, speed, and relevancy. It’s no surprise that they were able to turn a legal dispute (Colin vs. Cuthbert) into pure gold.
MAC Cosmetics, in the recent Tube Girl trend, mobilized in five days. Five. That’s the kind of brand agility that wins hearts (and headlines).
So what’s the lesson? You don’t always have to respond — but if you do, make it fast, make it relevant, and make it human.
Virality can be a gift or a threat. The difference lies in how you manage it.
You can’t control what the internet says about your brand. But you can control how fast, how thoughtfully, and how authentically you respond.
Jet2 may have chosen to ride the wave – but in doing so, they missed a chance to own it. The content was free, the sentiment was good, and the moment was there.
Others, like Astronomer or Aldi, have seized the moment. Some, facing genuine crises, have had to fight to restore trust.
Whether your brand is being memed, mocked, or magnified – what you do next is everything.
There’s truth in the motto ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’. Which is why having pre-agreed playbooks. Knowing your thresholds. Understanding when do you step in? When do you leave it? Who decides is essential.
The brands that win today aren’t the ones who play it safe — they’re the ones who are prepared, proactive, and just human enough to jump in.
One thing is clear, across the board brands can no longer afford to be caught off guard.
And I say this just as Sir Anthony Hopkins kicks off the Skims satire – how will Kim’s team respond?
