Gromit Mug

Submission 45,120

Part of a series on Wallace and Gromit / Wensleydale. [View Related Entries]

About

Gromit Mug refers to a mug shaped after the face of Wallace and Gromit deuteragonist Gromit. In March 2020, ironic memes about the mug being a very desirable item gained popularity online, gaining a further boost after popular YouTuber Pyrocynical bought the mug in April 2020.

Origin

The mug, officially known as "Aardman Wallace and Gromit Shaped Mug – Gromit" is based on the likeness of Wallace and Gromit character Gromit and is sold by British online shop Half Moon Bay Shop.^[1]^[2]

On January 9th, 2020, Instagram^[3] user longvagine posted an ironic meme comparing the pros and cons of marriage, naming "have to share the dino mug with wife" as the con (shown below, left). Prior to March 9th, 2020, an unknown user posted a meme in which the dyno mug was replaced with the Gromit mug (shown below, right). On March 9th, 2020, Facebook^[4]^[5] meme pages Incoming memes and Imaginary memes with unsanitary themes made the earliest reposts of the image, gaining over 4,100 reactions and 1,700 shares and 1,300 reactions and 1,300 shares in eight months, respectively.

Spread

In March 2020, the image received viral spread online with multiple reposts on Instagram^[6]^[7] and Reddit.^[8] On April 2nd, Redditor^[9] ludwigisnotshort reposted the image to /r/pyrocynical subreddit. On April 14th, YouTuber and streamer Pyrocynical posted two photographs of himself holding the mug to Instagram (shown below, left and right), with the post gaining over 182,000 likes.

Following Pyrocynical's post, Gromit mug achieved a status of a meme in /r/pyrocynical subreddit. On April 14th, 2020, Redditor^[10] kingboi2134 posted the earliest derivative meme, a deep-fried photograph of Pyrocynical caption "Gromit Mug Gromit Mug" (shown below, left). On May 21st, 2020, Redditor^[11] A_Big_Gay_Egg posted a Mods Are Asleep meme that received over 9,500 upvotes in six months (shown below, right).

The meme did not see viral spread outside of the subreddit until mid-July 2020. On July 3rd, Redditor^[12] cstrode24 reposted the original Gromit mug meme, gaining over 13,100 upvotes in five months. On July 15th, Redditors^[13]^[14] iron_170 and ChirpyBird8791 posted a fan art and a meme that gained over 1,200 and 12,300 upvotes in /r/pyrocynical in five months (shown below, left and right).

In the following days, multiple memes about Gromit Mug were posted in the subreddit, with the meme spreading to /r/okbuddyretard subreddit through reposts and original content. For example, on July 17th, Redditor^[15] aweirdstranger0104 posted a meme based on Pyrocynical's Ryūko Matoi cosplay (shown below, left), which gained over 12,900 upvotes in /r/pyrocynical. A same-day repost^[16] in /r/okbuddyretard received over 4,100 upvotes.

On July 22nd, meme content creator Dolan Dark posted results of a poll about the mug on his Instagram^[17] page, with the post gaining over 284,000 likes (shown below, right).

In late November 2020, the meme regained popularity online after on November 19th, Redditor^[18] Fartsniffer234 posted a photograph of his broken Gromit mug (examples^[19]^[20] shown below).

Gromit Mug vs. Monkey Mug

On March 21st, 2021, Twitter^[21] account Things That Changed the Internet (@ShapedInternet) posted a self-replicating tweet that contained an image of Morpheus offering a Gromit Mug and a monkey-shaped mug and two buttons captioned "Tweet #GromitMug" and "Tweet #MonkeyMug." Upon being pressed, the button prompted Twitter users to tweet "I have chosen #GromitMug / #MonkeyMug, what will your choice be?", similar to December 2020 Carp Tweets. The tweet received over 30 retweets and 360 likes in two days (shown below).

In the following days, multiple Twitter^[22]^[23] users shared the tweet by pressing one of the buttons. The viral spread of the post was accompanied by an influx of memes in which users favored one of the mugs; for example, on March 21st, Twitter^[24] user @aceisgaming65 posted an Average Fan vs. Average Enjoyer meme that received over 110 retweets and 370 likes in two days (shown below, left).

Bring Out the Fine China

Bring Out the Fine China refers to a series of memes in which users showcase unusual drinkware and dinnerware, typically merchandise for various franchises, referring to it as "fine china," meaning that they prize their items like they would expensive porcelain. The format gained popularity online following a viral posts showcasing promotional Halo Infinite cups.