4 Smart Social Media Parody Accounts That Prove Spoof Is More Than Funny

Satire is dead. That’s a phrase that’s being used more and more online these days. The more we know about the world around us, the more different types or people we meet through social media, the more you realize that some stereotypes are true. Of course satire and irony have long been weapons in the clever marketers arsenal. So how do we use these weapons when there are real people far more outrageous than any satirical character?

If satire is actually dead, social media is definitely the prime suspect in the murder. But social media is also a prime location for parody and satire. Some of the parody social media accounts that litter each social network push satire beyond the jokes to create useful resources, forums for debate, and living CVs.

1. Binders of Women

The inspiration for this list, this Facebook page was inspired by an unfortunate comment by US presidential candidate Mitt Romney. During his second debate with President Obama, Mr. Romney responded to accusations of sexism by claiming he requested female applicants to his department, and received ‘binders full of women’ in response. The unfortunate choice of phrase was jumped on by Obama supporters who created this parody account.

The page accumulated 300,000 likes in just 2 days. Demonstrating how quickly you can gain a following if your timing and sentiment is right. The account itself started with jokes about Romney’s unfortunate comment but has grown more serious over the last few days. The page has seen numerous amusing and interesting posts from both sides, as the owner has tried to generate bi-partisan debate on the issue of sexism. What started as a joke, is now the center of interesting and mostly reasoned debate.

2. Gina Indelicada

Gina is one of the most popular brand names in Brazil. Gina is the face on the box of a much-loved brand of toothpicks. She’s also the inspiration for this parody account. The account was set up by Riccky Lopes, a 19-year-old student who chose Gina as the perfect face for a comedy account that played against Brazilian stereotypes. The account invites people to ask questions and ‘Gina’answers them indelicately, hence the name ‘Inelicada’. Lopes told Forbes, “Brazilians are known for their friendliness, for their love of hugging and all that, what can sometimes be seen as fake. So whenever a person comes around who breaks that stereotype, people will relate to them as someone who speaks their mind and is sincere. Gina is all of that.”

Why was he talking to Forbes? Because the account received 1.5million Likes in 12 days. It also landed Lopes multiple job offers from marketing and ad agencies, as well as partnerships requests from the owners of the Gina brand. Parody social media accounts aren’t just for fun; sometimes they can build a career.

3. Fake Pinterest

I’ll be honest; I’m a sucker for a bit of meta-humour. A social media account that parodies a social network by creating an imagined text version is just meta enough for me.  This isn’t the only social network parody account, it’s not even the only Pinterest parody Twitter account, but it wins its place here because it invents the images it describes. It’s main rival, Picture less Pinterest just describes actual Pins in an amusing manner. The beauty of Fake Pinterest is that it creates ridiculous sounding images that are almost believable as Pins. The key to great satire is to leave people thinking, “that’s ridiculous but it could be real.” And Fake Pinterest does that beautifully.

These types of accounts, like the now-suspended Instagrarn, are great for marketers. They identify the things on Twitter, Pinterest or other social networks that should be avoided, because they’re so open to parody. And on that theme….

4. Condescending Brand Page

This page is a must for every social media marketer. It might make hard reading for some, but it’s a great guide on what not to do on Facebook. The page uses every cheap social media trick to demonstrate just how condescending some brands appear on Facebook. Common posts involve pointless content shared from brand pages or shameless demands for Likes, like the request to ‘“Like” if you Love your children.’ This stuff is only ever going to annoy or upset people and creates no value for a brand, Condescending Brand Page highlights that point while accruing it’s own army of followers.

The page also invites fans to name and shame brands that they feel take them for granted or don’t engage on a human level. You don’t want your brand to end up in this hall of shame, but it’s the perfect place to find out what people really think of some social media marketing tactics.

These accounts, along with other notable mentions like Invisible Obama, Duncan Jenkins and The Dark Lord prove that on social media, satire is alive and kicking.

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