10 Brands Climb Aboard the Empire State Proposal Meme

A marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building's spire triggered one of the fastest rounds of brand trendjacking we've seen this year.

Russian rooftoppers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climbed the 1,454-foot landmark before unveiling a banner reading:

"When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."

The line is widely credited to Jimi Hendrix, though historians trace the idea to 19th-century British statesman William Ewart Gladstone.

Beerkus then proposed on a platform beneath the antenna, and authorities arrested the pair soon after on multiple charges.

Not everyone took it at face value.

Nikolau's father told ABC News the two were already married and called the stunt a "performance."

Some outlets noted the climb may also double as promotion for the couple's 2024 Netflix film, "Skywalkers: A Love Story."

But none of these reasons slowed the brands.

Within hours, they recreated the viral image with jokes tailored to their products, proving how fast internet culture becomes branded content.

This flood of near-identical posts raised a real question about whether speed alone earns attention anymore.

Here are 10 brands that joined the trend.

1. Canva

Canva enlarged the couple's banner and replaced its message with "Make the sign bigger with Canva."

It edited a laptop into the proposal scene to promote its design platform.

Because the software is built on visual editing, the meme felt like a natural extension of the brand.

2. Cisco

Cisco swapped the banner for one reading, "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

It also paired the image with the caption, "When your help desk ticket reaches new heights..."

The post translated a decades-old IT joke into a timely social meme, showing how brand humor can make reactive marketing work.

3. Duolingo

Duolingo Deutschland recreated the proposal using Duo the owl while turning the image into a German vocabulary lesson.

The caption, "If he wanted to, he would," echoed a familiar internet phrase.

It stayed consistent with the app's long-running brand personality, which often turns internet culture into educational content in a playful way.

4. Empire State Building

The building's own social media team responded by recreating the engagement ring photo from its observation deck.

It reminds couples they could book its official proposal package without climbing the spire.

The response, which has since gained 107,000 likes, acknowledged the viral story while redirecting attention toward a legitimate experience.

It also demonstrates how a brand can ride unexpected publicity and steer it straight back to its own services.

5. Tarte Cosmetics

The beauty brand replaced the couple with one of its signature purple PR packages filled with its bestselling products.

The post joked that the brand had simply left another influencer mailer at the top of New York's most famous skyscraper.

It extends a running social media conversation around its oversized PR gifting strategy.

The execution remained unmistakably Tarte because the recognizable packaging became the focus of the visual.

6. KitKat

KitKat referenced the engagement ring image by placing it around its four-finger chocolate staple.

Its caption cheekily reads, "I was told I should post this. Hopefully you guys get it."

Comments ran with it and left their own absurd theories, from it being Taylor's ring to the snack brand marrying competitor Twix.

7. DoorDash

DoorDash imagined completing an impossible delivery at the top of the Empire State Building.

It pokes fun at customer expectations while reinforcing its convenience brand message through a simple visual edit.

Because delivery sits at the heart of the company's identity, the meme required very little explanation to understand the punchline.

8. Lidl

Lidl joined the conversation atop its own grocery store with a banner that promoted its store app.

The brand demonstrated how even supermarkets can participate in fast-moving trends.

Lidl made the meme its own.

It swapped in a storefront, brand colors, and a uniform, but the reference still came across clearly.

9. VaynerMedia

The agency replaced the banner with "When your laptop dies, and you're looking for your charger."

The caption joked that the missing charger had been left on top of the Empire State Building.

VaynerMedia targeted professionals and marketers who know the frustration of forgetting essential equipment before an important meeting.

The humor came from a shared workplace experience that resonated with its industry audience.

10. NAK Hair

The Australian brand replaced the original banner with a bright pink version promoting its haircare range.

It also swapped the engagement ring for one of its leave-in products.

The breaking-news framing stretched the joke past a plain image edit while keeping the product front and center.

The Rules of Trendjacking

Speed got these brands in the door, but a few patterns decided which posts actually worked.

The ones that followed a few basic rules stood out from the crowd.

• Speed creates opportunity, but relevance earns attention. Brands should establish approval processes to respond quickly while aligning their voice and purpose.
• Recognition comes from consistency. Teams should anchor trending content in creative platforms to make participation feel authentic.
• Not every trend deserves a response. Marketers should evaluate whether a cultural conversation genuinely fits the brand to build credibility.

When every brand can post within minutes, the ones that stay true to their personality and the moment are what audiences remember.

Our Take: When Should a Brand Stay Quiet?

Canva had a product joke, and DoorDash had a delivery gag, so they earned the post.

A brand with no angle just adds one more near-identical image to the pile.

And this wall of sameness becomes its own kind of slop, the same fatigue people already feel scrolling past AI images all day.

The urge to post usually comes from watching everyone else do it.

We think this is exactly when a brand should sit out, since "we don't want to miss out" never shows up as a real reason in the actual work.

The smartest move is often the one you didn't do, because a trend you can't add something new and meaningful to is worth skipping.

Looking for a social media strategy that can balance speed with original creative?

Explore these top social media marketing agencies to find partners that know when to join the conversation and when to create one.