Grumpy Cat

2012

Date: 22 September 2012 · Place: Morristown, Arizona; Reddit r/pics · Figures: Tardar Sauce, cat · Tabatha Bundesen, owner · Bryan Bundesen, brother who posts to Reddit · Tags: Cat, Reaction, Brand 01. Feline Dwarfism on r/pics On 22 September 2012 Bryan Bundesen posts a photo of his sister Tabatha's cat Tardar Sauce to Reddit's r/pics. The cat's permanent scowl is the product of feline dwarfism and an underbite. Commenters accuse him of Photoshop; he posts video proof the same day. Within forty-eight hours the image is on the front page of Reddit, captioned with two-line top-and-bottom Impact in the lolcat grammar. The face becomes a universal reaction macro for refusal. 02. The Brand By December 2012 Tabatha signs with talent agent Ben Lashes. Friskies makes Grumpy Cat its 'official spokescat' in 2013. A Lifetime Christmas movie airs November 2014 with Aubrey Plaza as the voice. Tardar Sauce dies 14 May 2019 of a urinary tract infection. Grumpy Cat is the moment the meme-as-property thesis becomes legible to brand managers. The cat earns an estimated one hundred million dollars in licensing; the family disputes the figure. Sources • Reddit r/pics, original Bryan Bundesen post, 22 September 2012 • Forbes, 'How Grumpy Cat Earned Her Owner $99.5 Million in Just 2 Years', 7 December 2014 • KnowYourMeme entry, 'Grumpy Cat'