"lemme get uhhhhh froot": Internet memes for consciousness-raising in Aotearoa's Bird of the Year conservation campaign

Bird of the Year has become a cultural phenomenon. Designed by Forest and Bird to raise awareness of New Zealand's endangered wildlife, the competition attracts engagement from dedicated campaign managers, fans, and baffled international news outlets. Internet memes have become an integral part of the competition. We analyse how Bird of the Year memes (n = 489) support engagement with the campaign. Our thematic analysis of 489 memes circulated on Facebook and Twitter revealed that memes invoke emotions, reflect and (re)produce identities, and encourage pro-environmental action. Memes mobilised humour and fear, cultural ideas about what it means to be a New Zealander, and information about how to conserve endangered species. Memes also self-referentially questioned the efficacy of memes for conservation, raising questions about the potentials and pitfalls of online engagement. Our findings point to the powerful psychological processes through which seemingly light-hearted memes can operate for consciousness-raising.