Firefox Assembles Cast of Meme Legends for Ad Promoting a More Innocent Internet
The internet has changed a lot since PetaPixel published its first post all the way back in 2009, and Firefox has created an ad full of fond memories of those halcyon days.
The “Come Back to Firefox” ad features meme legends like the Numa Numa Guy, Bad Luck Brian, Overly Attached Girlfriend, Where the Hell is Matt (Dancing Matt), Kelly’s Shoes, Annoying Orange, Apparently Kid, Tay “Chocolate Rain” Zonday, Chuck Testa, and Success Kid
“What happened to the internet? It used to be fun,” says the ad. “But lately, it’s gotten a little weird. Big tech companies follow us everywhere. I mean, everywhere.”
“They make money by following us. And somehow I’m the creepy one,” says Overly Attached Girlfriend. “And that built-in AI always asking, asking, asking. That’s annoying,” adds Annoying Orange.
The ad ends by reminding people that Firefox is still around, touting the web browser’s privacy features and that it “doesn’t profit off you.”
In November 2009, Firefox peaked when it boasted 32% of internet users, more than Internet Explorer 7. But it soon lost out to Google Chrome and approximately 7% of desktop computer users currently use Firefox.
“I kept going back to Firefox’s heyday, when the internet was really fun, weird, and interesting,” says Mozilla Chief Marketing Officer John Solomon. “The challenge was: how do you lean on nostalgia and heritage, but not be stuck in the past?”
The campaign was created by the agency We Believers. “We wanted to create an idea that truly belongs to Firefox — a challenger browser that helped shape the internet’s golden years and stayed independent as Big Tech took over. The goal? Remind former users that what they loved about Firefox matters more than ever now,” says Gustavo Lauria, Founder and CCO at We Believers.
“Our partners really cracked it,” adds Solomon. “We wanted to remind people of what made the internet so wonderful in the first place. These are people who helped make it strange, creative, surprising, and fun. None of them were trying to go viral. They were normal, everyday people who were using the internet. That’s the way the internet should be and why we feel it’s a great moment for Firefox. Always independent and unlike big tech, not trying to extract more from everyday people.”
