The Brief: A model who was serving water and looks at the Golden Globes has become a meme known as Fiji Water Lady, Fiji Water Girl, or Fiji Water Woman.

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Fiji Water Girl/Woman/Lady

Kelleth Cuthbert, a model and brand ambassador for Fiji Water photobombed a number of celebrity pictures while serving water to the stars at this year’s Golden Globe Awards. She quickly caught the attention of social media users, went viral, and became known as “Fiji Water Girl/Lady/Woman.” This virality seems to come from Cuthbert’s perfectly timed lurking, as well as her stunning outfit and smize; she was definitely serving looks.

Marketing Scheme

To many, this meme seemed a little too good and brand-specific to be a truly spontaneous meme – and they’re right. Fiji Water has a history of sponsoring awards shows and even having blue-dress-clad models carrying trays of their bottled water appear in the background of celebrity photos. This publicity stunt is an example of a brand’s ability to design a well-timed meme for marketing purposes. With all the buzz it’s generated about Fiji Water and Kelleth Cuthbert, it seems to have been a success for both the brand and the model. To some, however, the fact that this meme was designed by a marketing team for capital gain takes away some of its value.

https://twitter.com/rianphin/status/1082251742295875584

Memes & Commentary

Kelleth Cuthbert’s appearance at the Golden Globes has earned her admiration, publicity, and meme-status. Although she became a meme after lemon car memes, Queen Elizabeth’s death prediction memes, and Big Chungus, she is arguably the first mainstream meme of 2019.