“Keep calm and Carry on” is one of the latest phenomena in
digital marketing.
The poster was created in 1939, during World War I, to
display the message in case Nazi Germany invaded Great Britain, but it was
never distributed.
The message was very simple. In case of invasion keep calm
and carry on your regular lives not to suffer retaliation.
The poster was rediscovered in 2000 in a secondhand
bookstore in North East England and since the copyrights expired after 50
years, it is now of public domain.
The shop owners reproduced the poster and later it inspired
a range of clothing, mugs, doormats, baby clothes and other merchandise
from various vendors, and even a book of inspirational quotes.
The digital environment of social media was quick to
distribute the image and create versions for daily problems and ideas. It is a
digital phenomenon. Everyone has heard about it, seen it or got tired of
receiving hundreds of these images in e-mails and their Facebook Walls.
The Chive, an entertainment website, capitalized on the
trend and now sells t-shirts, posters and baby gear with the modified poster
featuring their name.
The Chive is selling merchandise with parodies |