Daniel Andrews will be remembered as Labor’s longest-serving premier in Victoria, overseeing the world’s longest series of Covid-19 lockdowns.
But he can also count another claim among his legacies – one of Australia’s most meme-able leaders.
The tradition of Australians altering Andrews’ image for a laugh goes back at least as far as September 2015 when the premier did a live cross from Tiananmen Square, giving birth to the “phone meme”.
We have the same thing in Australia, but it is always Victorian Premier Dan Andrews who cops it. There is now an ironic meme that is rolled out whenever something goes wrong! pic.twitter.com/LaRu7RxvT1
— Sally Gibson 🤸🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️ (@SallyMGibbson) July 9, 2022
However, even before Andrews took office a supercut of campaign ads appearing to say his government would be all about “pudding” went viral.
The Andrews memes entered a stratospheric level of popularity during the era of his daily Covid press conferences, where everything from his North Face jacket to the different variations of his stressed face became the butt of the joke.
Can someone make this into the drake meme template, in the same way as the recent Dan Andrews one? https://t.co/aZ0E0pJA9V pic.twitter.com/XFEhdOHtZO
— Dr James Reynolds (he/him) (@jamesreynolds) August 4, 2020
Here's the cheat sheet for the Dan Andrews presser:
— David Milner (@DaveMilbo) August 2, 2020
11am = not terrible
After 12pm = bad
Wearing a suit = real bad news
Sports jacket = moderately bad news
Northface jumper = it's the weekend
Wearing a suit on the weekend after 12pm = shit's fucked
Prediction:
— Ryan Sheales (@RyanSheales) August 9, 2020
Dan Andrews’ North Face jacket will end up on display in a museum one day.
(Maybe the @MelbourneMuseum or @MoAD_Canberra?)
Love him or hate him, the jacket is becoming iconic. pic.twitter.com/eunnxvgeE7
Australian internet culture’s obsession with Andrews’ image and voice peaked when his comments from a March 2020 press conference were sampled by electronic duo Mashd N Kutcher in their novelty song Get on the Beers.
The nation partied to the dancefloor banger featuring the premier’s voice and even voted the track as number 12 in Triple J’s hottest 100, boosted by a social media campaign promoting the song.
By the time Victoria’s lockdown lifted, there was only one course of action, as the phrase had become almost as wedded to the state’s cultural identity as the AFL.
Fuckin cheers, mates pic.twitter.com/YTPQ1ENAEw
— Elyce Phillips (@ElycePhillips) October 26, 2020
Q: Can I confirm you are saying we can finally get on the beers?
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) October 26, 2020
The premier: “I might go a little higher up the shelf.”
And speaking of the AFL, who can forget the time Andrews’ Facebook page mocked up a version of a Drake album cover to say: “If you’re reading this it’s Grand Final Friday Eve.”
Then when the 2021 federal election came around, a selfie of Andrews with the soon to be prime minister, Anthony Albanese, generated controversy around whether the meat was pre-cooked, and – you guessed it – memes.
Your gay uncles who lived in Sydney, gave good presents and told you what party drugs to avoid. pic.twitter.com/i10624OCjd
— Rhys Nicholson (@rhysnicholson) November 27, 2021
Even a few days before Andrews announced his retirement as premier, more meme potential emerged with a grainy video showing him smoking a cigarette with a friend.
Dan Andrews smokes the same way you remember the year 9 kid teaching you how to “smoke a cig properly” when you were 13. pic.twitter.com/34z4R9ZqfW
— ~ sea of mediocrity ~ (@ragecherry) September 22, 2023
As he retires, he leaves nascent memes in his wake – and some paying tribute to his meme legacy.
"It doesn't get better than that" the clue was there all day. https://t.co/k42PF6h9xU
— NickdMiller ❔ (@NickdMiller) September 26, 2023
