When a real-life moment is already doing numbers online, brands do not need to invent a new storyline. They just need to show they were paying attention. That is why the Empire State Building proposal stunt, complete with a banner unfurled 1,454 feet above New York City, turned into a rapid-fire template for brand humor.
Canva, Cisco, Duolingo, Tarte Cosmetics, NAK Hair, VaynerMedia, and even the Empire State Building’s own social team all remixed the same visual beat into their own “if you know, you know” jokes. The point was less about the proposal itself and more about how quickly a shared internet moment can become a brand language test.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- What made the Empire State Building proposal so trendjackable
- How brands adapted the same image without killing the joke
- Why the Empire State Building joined in instead of shutting it down
- What this means for marketers using trendjacks
What made the Empire State Building proposal so trendjackable
The original moment had all the ingredients platforms reward: a high-risk visual, a clear “before and after” narrative, and a banner that made the frame instantly legible even if you saw it muted, cropped, or reposted. Once the climb and proposal went viral, the image became a meme-ready canvas.
It also helped that the banner itself was already the “editable surface.” Brands could swap the message without changing the underlying drama of the shot. That makes remixing feel like participation in the same conversation, not a forced brand insertion.
How brands adapted the same image without killing the joke
Most of the trendjacks worked because they stayed inside the rules of the original frame: one dangerous-looking setup, one big banner, one punchline that lands fast.
- Canva leaned into its product utility by enlarging the banner and overlaying “Make the sign bigger with Canva,” and also edited the proposal to show a laptop with “Try Canva for free now.”
- Cisco used a classic IT support line by swapping in “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” and paired it with “When your help desk ticket reaches new heights…”
- Duolingo Deutschland turned the couple into the Duo owl and reframed it as a German language lesson, closing with “If he wanted to, he would,” which fits its established tone.
- NAK Hair made it a bold product-forward gag by changing the banner to a bright pink “Australia’s number one haircare brand” claim and replacing the engagement ring with a leave-in moisturiser, writing the caption like a breaking news bit.
- Tarte Cosmetics replaced the couple with a purple PR mailer packed with recognizable products like Shape Tape concealer and Tartelette tubing mascara, framing it like a package left on top of the landmark.
- VaynerMedia brought it into office-life humor by changing the banner to “When your laptop dies and you’re looking for your charger,” then extending the joke in the caption.
The common thread is restraint. The best remixes did not over-explain. They used the original visual as shared context, then delivered one clean twist that matched their brand voice.
Why the Empire State Building joined in instead of shutting it down
Instead of treating the viral climb as purely a security narrative, the Empire State Building’s social team turned it into an invitation that fits what the landmark sells: the view, the moment, the photo, the memory.
By recreating the engagement ring photo against the skyline and reminding followers they can get that same scene from the 86th floor observation deck, it repositioned the conversation from “how did they do that?” to “you can have your version of this, safely.” That is a smart pivot because it keeps the cultural moment attached to the place, not just the stunt.
What this means for marketers using trendjacks
Trendjacks are not “be fast on social” in the abstract. They are a test of whether your brand can speak in the internet’s shorthand without sounding like it is reading from a brand deck.
- Pick moments with an editable surface
A strong trendjack template has a simple element you can swap (a banner, a caption space, a label) while keeping the original visual payoff intact. - Match the joke to your existing voice, not a generic meme tone
Duolingo’s language-lesson framing works because it is already what people expect from the brand. Cisco’s IT humor works because it aligns with how people relate to the category. - Treat the caption like part of the punchline
Several examples rely on caption writing to complete the bit (“help desk ticket reaches new heights,” “just where we left it”). The image sets the stage, but the copy lands the joke. - Know when to sell the experience instead of commenting on it
The Empire State Building’s post is a reminder that not every response has to be a gag. Sometimes the best brand move is offering a legitimate way to participate in the feeling of the moment.
Underneath all of this is a cultural shift marketers keep relearning: people reward brands that understand the format of the conversation. Not just the topic. The faster social gets, the more “native” matters, because audiences can tell when a remix is made by someone who actually gets why the original blew up.
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