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Ann Handley

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Ann Handley is not impressed. (The back story.)

Dani Hagen had the idea late last week to create a MarketingProfs version of the Olympic-inspired meme, “McKayla is not impressed.”

Because I live under a rock, apparently, I had only a vague notion of what Dani was referring to. It turns out that she was referring to US gymnist McKayla Maroney’s sour expression after settling for a silver medal in the women’s vault final, which promptly birthed the Tumblr that transported the 16-year-old’s hilariously sour face to places far away from London. Like the Sistine Chapel. Into an Andy Warhol painting. And what not.

Because Corey O’Loughlin does not live under a rock (actually, she lives in Florida), she immediately recognized a good idea when it dropped into her lap. She jumped on it — HELL, YEAH! — and found all the images and wrote the captions while I scoured my house for a Silver Olympic medal and a fresh bouquet of flowers. Finding none, I made do.

Props to photographer Caroline Price for bearing the re-shoots until I got the deadness in the eyes precisely… well, dead. Also, the mouth couldn’t be too… I don’t know what, exactly, but whatever that intersection point is between a scowl and a sourpuss. It’s trickier than it looks. Especially in full makeup.

The results you see here are thanks to the mad photo editing skills of Jo Roberts, who dropped what she was doing because she saw the potential, too. It’s a lonely place under my rock.

Enjoy!


Ann Handley Is Not Impressed from MarketingProfs

Filed Under: Annecdote, Business, Media, Pop Culture, Social Media

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Corey O'Loughin says

    August 14, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    This was way too much fun to work on! We have a great team.

    Reply
  2. Daniele Hagen says

    August 14, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    Thanks, Ann, for not hesitating for one second when we brought this idea to your attention. You deserve a Gold medal. It’s in the mail.

    Thanks, also, for being part of the leadership team at a company that not only values but encourages FUN in the (virtual) workplace.

    I’m impressed.
    Dani

    Reply
  3. Sonia Simone says

    August 14, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    I loved this idea, and the execution was spot on. Well done.

    Reply
  4. Lisa Larranaga says

    August 14, 2012 at 7:39 pm

    This made me LOL. I hope LOLs impress Ann 🙂

    Best,
    Lisa
    @cision

    Reply
  5. B.L. Ochman says

    August 14, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    ROFL. what fun!

    Reply
  6. Melinda Venable says

    August 14, 2012 at 10:38 pm

    As McKayla’s fans would say…
    Adorbs!

    Reply
  7. Ann Handley says

    August 15, 2012 at 10:09 am

    Thanks, all. This was great fun to work on — our team here (Corey, Jo, Dani) is really fantastic, and I can’t emphasize that enough!

    @Lisa She’s a tough cookie. But I’ll see if I can put in a good word for you… LOL.

    Reply
  8. Jackie Huba says

    August 15, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Love this Ann! Textbook model for riding a meme. Hilarious!

    Reply
  9. Bobby Lehew says

    August 15, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    Love it.

    Reply
  10. Tony Bennett says

    August 15, 2012 at 8:28 pm

    Here I was, in my head, giving you credit for all of this lol. You obviously have a great team, kudos to you all for putting this together, it’s a smash hit if I’ve ever seen one!

    Also, on a sidenote, I’m not surprised that it was Caroline that snapped that million dollar expression. She has some photo taking skillz!!

    Reply
  11. Lisa Larranaga says

    August 16, 2012 at 2:27 am

    Haha! I am still talking about it! Thanks for making my evening 🙂 Hope you have a good day!

    Reply
  12. JD @ Honest Mom says

    August 16, 2012 at 11:30 am

    LOVE it.

    The QR code on the back of a truck? That’s hysterical!

    And the “your wife is hot” billboard – we had something like that in our area. TACK-Y. As my husband said, “That ad makes me want to never, ever call that company. Even though yes, my wife IS hot.” (Okay, I may have added that last part.)

    Reply
  13. Sharon Mostyn says

    August 21, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    When you’re as cool as Ann Handley, it’s tough to be impressed. This meme is a perfect example of how smart/creative/cutting-edge/you-fill-in-the-blank Ann and the MarketingProfs’ team are and why you should make sure you read everything they come up with, individually and collectively.*

    *Not a paid endorsement, I just really like these people. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Ann Handley says

    August 22, 2012 at 10:05 am

    You are hilarious, Sharon Mostyn!

    Reply
  15. Sandhya Valecha says

    May 5, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    Hi Ann,

    This is so much fun!
    I loved reading it.
    The title is irresistible. I simply couldn’t stop myself from clicking through. And of course the expression, the look, the results and the description are awesome. 🙂

    Great team work!

    Thanks,

    Sandhya

    Reply
  16. Julees Place Legian says

    February 9, 2015 at 4:17 am

    Simply desire to say your article is as surprising.

    The clearness for your submit is simply great and
    that i can assume you’re knowledgeable in this subject.
    Well along with your permission let me to clutch your
    feed to stay up to date with imminent post. Thank you one
    million and please carry on the rewarding work.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to ride a meme to create word of mouth | Axio says:
    August 17, 2012 at 12:00 am

    […] Ann is the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs and yesterday she starred in 10 photos posted to company’s Facebook page. The photos were a takeoff on the “McKayla is not impressed” meme that parodied US Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney’s hilariously sour expression after settling for a silver medal in the women’s vault final. Already getting lots of likes, comments, shares and tweets, Ann’s photos are creating buzz for MarketingProfs. […]

    Reply
  2. Ann Is Not Impressed: The Marketing Edition | MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog says:
    August 20, 2012 at 10:00 am

    […] The MarketingProfs version—”Ann Is Not Impressed”—featured me in the role of McKayla, scowling viciously at dumb marketing tactics. That bit of brilliance came from team member Dani Hagen. Corey O’Loughlin found all the images and wrote the captions, and Jo Roberts contributed her mad photo-editing skills. (Full back story here.) […]

    Reply
  3. Ann Is Not Impressed: The Marketing Edition | Complete SEO Marketing News says:
    August 20, 2012 at 10:17 am

    […] The MarketingProfs version—”Ann Is Not Impressed”—featured me in the role of McKayla, scowling viciously at dumb marketing tactics. That bit of brilliance came from team member Dani Hagen. Corey O’Loughlin found all the images and wrote the captions, and Jo Roberts contributed her mad photo-editing skills. (Full back story here.) […]

    Reply
  4. If You're Looking Content Creation Moments Are Everywhere says:
    January 15, 2013 at 6:00 am

    […] she does a lot of great stuff at the company. So she said to us, “You know what we should do? We should do an ‘Ann is not impressed.’_kmq.push(["trackClickOnOutboundLink","link_50f536d395706","Article link clicked",{"Title":"We […]

    Reply
  5. Ann Handley on Ridiculously Good Writing | #LYPPodcast says:
    December 23, 2014 at 10:01 am

    […] She’s smart. She’s funny (proof here). She does not take herself too seriously (see #AnnIsNotImpressed). […]

    Reply

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