They're The Same Picture

About

They're The Same Picture is a two-panel exploitable meme based on a scene from the television series The Office in which the character Pam presents two pictures before Pam says they're the same picture in the second panel.

Origin

On May 19th, 2011, the Office episode "Search Committee" premiered in the United States. In the episode, Pam pranks acting manager Creed by asking him to spot the differences between two pictures, clarifying off camera that they're actually the same picture.^[1]

After seeing some use as a reaction image posted to make the point that the user couldn't tell the difference between two things,^[2] it started seeing use as an exploitable beginning on June 22th, 2018, when an exploitable comparing Fortnite to trash was posted to /r/MemeEconomy,^[3] gaining over 26,000 points (shown below).

Spread

In the following months, the format was used to make similar points about a number of subjects. For example, a post in /r/bojackhorseman used the template to make a point about how the main character in Bojack Horseman hates himself, gaining over 1,400 points (shown below, left). Another post referencing Loss appeared in /r/MemeEconomy on June 23rd and gained over 95 points (shown below, right).

Other edits have used the format in a complimentary fashion. For example, a post on /r/garlicbreadmemes comparing garlic bread to heaven gained over 890 points after it was posted on June 23rd, 2018 (shown below, left). A wholesome edit posted to /r/MemeEconomy on June 25th gained over 110 points (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References