The Marketing Genius Behind Baby Yoda
December 17, 2019
The much-anticipated streaming service, Disney+ launched November 12th, 2019, along with its Star Wars original series The Mandalorian. The series was an instant hit, with more than 40 million streams in the first week. Since its debut, one of the show’s characters has taken the world by storm. Baby Yoda.
Baby Yoda (who is not actually Yoda, as the series takes place years after the original Yoda died) is the standout star of The Mandalorian and has captivated the hearts of Disney fans, Star Wars fans and, seemingly, the entire internet. He has gone viral, quickly becoming the subject of memes on all corners of the internet. But what is it about Baby Yoda that makes him so irresistible? It’s his undeniable cuteness of course!
Cuteness and Marketing:
Using cute animals to promote products and services is nothing new, brands have been utilizing this tactic since the dawn of marketing. You can spot adorable animals in advertisements selling anything from toilet paper to luxury cars.
But what exactly makes something cute? Konrad Lorenz did a study on the term “cute” and developed a list of things that humans commonly find endearing. The list included disproportionately large heads, big eyes, small noses and chubby cheeks. And, what usually processes all these features? Babies! Humans tend to find things that resemble babies irresistible! It evokes our innate human instinct to love and care for these tiny creatures.
Disney+ capitalized on this human attraction by taking characteristics that humans find cute and tweaking them to fit the Star Wars aesthetic. Baby Yoda has a large head, eyes and ears, along with a tiny stature and an adorable baby voice. This combination has made Baby Yoda irresistible to not only Star Wars fans but just about everyone.
The Best Baby Yoda Memes:
The internet instantly latched onto Baby Yoda, where he has become the star of countless memes. Here are some of our favourites!
Baby Yoda combined with the “Ok, boomer” meme resulted in the creation of this highly relevant and timely content.
This meme proves you don’t have to be a sci-fi fan to get in on the action.
The Seattle Seahawks leveraged the popularity of this viral moment by changing their Twitter Avi to a Baby Yoda version of Russel Wilson!
Lastly, we love this Simpsons crossover!
Star Wars has worked hard to shed its nerdy stigma and appeal to a wider audience. Disney+ decided to overcome that stigma by creating a character that would appeal to people of all ages and genders. Although original fans have questioned the merit of the character and chalked him up as a clever ploy to sell merch, many fans simply don’t care. There is no denying it, Baby Yoda is marketing genius! He basically markets himself! You can expect to see him on merch and other memorabilia near you soon! After all, Disney would be crazy not to capitalize on this beloved character.