How a Brag Media meme event garnered national media attention

Last year, The Brag Media’s meme page ‘Good morning to everyone except‘ was started. 

The concept – while simple, went super viral with Australian Gen-Zers. The page uses the template of “Good morning to everyone except…” followed by a popular and current issue. The satirical events the page ‘hosts’ garnered national media attention, and the page itself is growing by more than 5,000 fans a week.

One in particular, Leave a poo on Gladys Berejiklian’s doorstep, gained huge traction. We’re talking over 14k event ‘attendees’, and 478k people reached. Oh, and the New South Wales Police Force team at the lovely Premier’s door-step.

The Australian music industry was reeling, after the New South Wales State Government, led by Gladys Berejiklian, introduced harsh new impositions. The Brag team started the satirical event after recognising those notorious new festivals policies. The policies target 14 NSW festivals which have been deemed “high risk”.

Mountain Sounds Festival closed down following this, and it looks as though other festivals are to follow suit.

The event description stated that attendees should “leave a poo at Gladys’ doorstep since she’s been so shit lately.”

Without any paid advertising, the page managed to crack over 5,000 responses overnight. Audiences engaged with the event through their own satirical posts, with some gaining hundreds of likes and shares. People embraced their “shitty” Premier through some top-quality memes.

And within days, 7 News, The Guardian, 10 News Daily, and Junkee begun reporting on the event.

• Code Brown: NSW Premier threatened with poo – The Chronicle
• Gladys Berejiklian is targeted by disgusting ‘poo’ protest over pill testing – and thousands have signed up to leave a message on her doorstep – The Daily Mail
• NSW Cops at scene of Premier ‘poo protest’ – The Herald
• Cops Are Contacting People Who Clicked ‘Attending’ On A Satirical, Anti-Gladys Facebook Event – Junkee
• NSW Police Attend Gladys Berejiklian’s Office Over Poo Protest – 10 Daily
• Protesters signing up to poo on NSW Premier’s doorstep – 7 News

Titles across the entire Australian Associated Press network covered the story in all parts of Australia.

The Guardian referred to the event as ‘scatological’. The story reads, “(Event organisers) urged people to attend the premier’s electorate office in Sydney and stage a scatological protest over the live music issue.”

Sniff Off, a Facebook page ran by the office of NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, got around the event.

Shoebridge commented, “The event is so obviously a joke, and the most basic research would have made that clear. It’s not a real event,”

He adds, “They’re not only squandering resources but now chasing down innocent people with DMs on Facebook. The police state is reaching into everyone’s mobile phone.”

On the event day, NSW Police officials guarded the Premier’s office for hours.

Several people who were allegedly in the area at the time reported that at least 10 police staff were in the vicinity of the ‘event’ for the duration of the day. Police reportedly contacted people who clicked ‘going’ on the event to warn them off.

In a statement to The Guardian, a spokesperson of the NSW Police Force comments “Police from North Shore did make inquiries with a person involved in that Facebook page.”

The spokesperson added, “No formal action was taken.”

Memes are the way forward, folks. 

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.