Like all internet phenomena, memes evolve very fast – hilarious one day, yawn-worthy the next. Successful memes are those that make a place for themselves in pop culture (albeit only for a brief interlude) because they are re-used and repurposed to create new content.
There’s no secret recipe for the perfect meme, but the most successful ones do have a few things in common. Using images from popular films and TV series is one example. If enough people are familiar with the scene or characters depicted, the image will convey a specific emotion or situation. Think of Leonardo DiCaprio raising his champagne glass in a toast as patronizing megalomaniac Jay Gatsby, or Bart Simpson yet again writing lines on the blackboard.
The caption on a meme can either echo the image or stand in contrast to it, but in both cases, it has to be original and surprise people. The greater the response a meme elicits, the more likely people are to remember it and forward it to their friends and family.