Three Wolf Moon Amazon Reviews

2008

Date: November 2008 onward · Place: Amazon.com · Figures: Antonia Neshev, illustrator · The Mountain Corporation, manufacturer · Brian Govern, originating reviewer · Tags: Ironic Commerce, Review Genre, Object Meme 01. A Shirt Becomes A Joke The Three Wolf Moon T-shirt, illustrated by Antonia Neshev and sold by The Mountain Corporation since 2003, depicts three howling wolves under a full moon. In November 2008 a New Jersey law student named Brian Govern posts a sarcastic five-star review on Amazon describing the magical effects of wearing it. Hundreds of imitators follow. Within six months the shirt is the best-selling apparel item on Amazon. It accumulates more than three thousand reviews, the great majority ironic. 02. The Review As Performance Three Wolf Moon establishes the user review section as a venue for collaborative comedy writing. The format becomes a recurring genre: BIC for Her pens, Haribo sugar-free gummy bears, banana slicers, the Tuscan whole milk one-gallon listing. It is also the first proof that an object's meaning can be rewritten in public by strangers faster than its manufacturer can object. Sources • KnowYourMeme, 'Three Wolf Moon' • The New York Times, 'Wolf Shirt Goes Viral' (5 June 2009) • Amazon product page reviews B002HJ377A (archived 2009)