An unusual story captivated the Internet world in 2019.
Five years ago, a simple egg managed to dethrone the biggest stars of Instagram, becoming the image with the most likes in the history of the platform.
How it all started
Chris Godfrey, an ordinary guy who worked in advertising, found out that Kylie Jenner held the record for the most liked post on Instagram.
Together with two friends, he set out to see if he could break this record with something as mundane as possible: a photo of an egg.
“We thought that something so universal and simple could be grand enough to break that record,” Godfrey recalls.
From the idea to the viral phenomenon
On January 4, 2019, the account @world_record_egg posted the first image with the following text: “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Let’s beat the current record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We can do this.”
In just nine days, the picture has amassed more than 50 million likes, compared to the American star’s 19 million.
International reactions
The success of the egg took the whole world by surprise.
Andrew Essex, CEO and founder of creative company Plan A, described the phenomenon as “a completely bizarre occurrence”.
Godfrey himself admitted that the success was “a fluke that captured the world’s attention”.
But the story did not stop there. Soon, new images appeared on the same account, this time with the egg beginning to crack.
A deeper message
It was eventually revealed that it was all part of a publicity campaign for Mental Health America.
In a commercial that aired during the 2019 Super Bowl on Hulu, the egg “posted” the following message: “Recently, I started cracking. The pressure exerted by social media affects me”.
The message continued with a call for mental health awareness and support: “If you’re struggling, talk to someone. Together we can get through this.”
The record held by the famous egg photo was later surpassed by a photo of Lionel Messi celebrating Argentina’s victory at the 2022 World Cup.
Source: UNILAD
Source: www.go4it.ro
