Nickelback Embrace Their Dank Memes In Google Photos Commercial
Among the many ways Nickelback have become a punchline over the years: The video for their 2005 smash “Photograph” is the source material for innumerable dank memes. Something about Chad Kroeger holding out a photograph while instructing you to “look at this photograph” tickles the internet’s collective lizard brain. We have been invited to “look at this graph” and “look at this meme.” Even Donald Trump took part in this pastime last fall, when he tweeted out a meme of Kroeger holding a photo of the Biden family, headlined, of course, “LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH.” (The band had the image removed; the tweet now reads, “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”) Now, in exchange for what must have been a giant Scrooge McDuck pile of money, they’ve decided to play along with the joke.
In a new ad for Google Photos, Kroeger sings a self-deprecating parody version of “Photograph” that mostly mocks his own fashion choices: “Falling down the photo rabbit hole/ Is that my hair or just a ramen bowl?” There’s also a highly relatable bit about our compulsion to shoot way too many photos of the same meal. In the end, in Google font, we’re told, “Look at these photographs.” It’s not nearly as funny as the memes that inspired it, but kudos to Kroeger and company for finding a way to cash in on this kind of notoriety. The commercial and the original video are viewable below.
“Photograph” factoids: The video was directed by Nigel Dick, who helmed iconic videos for the likes of Britney Spears, Guns N’ Roses, Oasis, Tears For Fears, and many others. He also directed hella Nickelback videos. The song itself peaked at #2 behind Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” making it their second highest charting hit in the US behind “How You Remind Me.” Because this isn’t The Number Ones and I’m not Tom Breihan, I’m not going to rate these songs out of 10, but feel free to do so yourselves in the comments.