“Corporate Needs You To Find The Differences” is a meme format that originated from the hit TV show “The Office.” Here’s a dive into its origins and its journey to becoming one of the Internet’s favorite memes.
The Origin of the Meme
The original scene comes from Season 5, Episode 23 of “The Office,” an episode called “Broke.” In this scene, Pam Beesly, played by Jenna Fischer, presents two nearly identical pictures to Dunder Mifflin’s regional manager Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, and asks him to find the differences between them. Michael Scott, after looking at them for a moment, responds with “They’re the same picture.”
The humor of this scene comes from the fact that, in the context of the episode, Pam is trying to point out the differences between their current situation and a potential future one. Michael Scott, however, either doesn’t see or doesn’t want to acknowledge any difference, hence his response.
The Meme’s Journey
Years after the episode aired, this scene gained popularity as a meme format. The first known instance of the meme format appeared on Reddit in June 2018 and quickly gained traction.
In the meme, the two images Pam holds are replaced with two different things that the creator of the meme is implying are the same. The punchline, represented by Michael’s response, is that someone (usually represented as “corporate” or some other authority figure) is unable to tell the difference between the two things, despite them being clearly different to the audience.
This format has been used to comment on a wide variety of topics, from pop culture and video games to politics and social issues. Its flexibility, combined with the popularity of “The Office,” has made it a lasting presence in internet meme culture.
In Conclusion
“Corporate Needs You To Find The Differences” is a great example of how a single moment from a TV show can take on a life of its own, becoming a tool for humor and commentary years after it first aired. It shows the power of the Internet to reinterpret and reuse media in new and unexpected ways, and the enduring appeal of “The Office” in popular culture. The next time you see this meme, you’ll know not only its origins, but the significance it holds in the grander scheme of Internet culture.
