Illegal flower tribute meme
✕ Risky for brands. The meme's core message is about censorship and political sensitivity, making it unsuitable for most business contexts to avoid controversy.
What does the Illegal flower tribute meme mean?
The 'Illegal flower tribute' meme is a Chinese internet meme that ironically comments on the country's strict censorship by depicting a user's attempt to post a tribute or remembrance that is then censored, often by replacing the text with a notice that the content violates regulations.
Is the Illegal flower tribute meme dead?
Less than it was. Illegal flower tribute is fading: its rate of reads of its Wikipedia article has slowed by more than 15% compared with the period before. Its current rate is 3% of its peak, which came in the period ending Dec 1, 2015.
The Wikipedia article on Illegal flower tribute was read 10 times in November 2026, and 43,406 times since July 2015. Its busiest measured month ended Dec 1, 2015 at 51 reads per day.
Stats
| Busiest month | November 2015 (1,536 reads) |
| Reads, last 12 months | 2,602 |
| Reads, 12 months before | 4,907 |
| Change year on year | -47% |
| All-time reads since July 2015 | 43,406 |
| Current rate vs peak | 3% of the peak in the period ending Dec 1, 2015 |
Illegal flower tribute captions for businesses
| real estate | My 'dream home' post / CENSORED: Contains excessive levels of awesomeness |
| dentists | Posting about 'flossing every day' / CENSORED: Implies unrealistic oral hygiene standards |
| restaurants | Sharing 'our secret ingredient' / CENSORED: Undisclosed culinary magic is forbidden |
| fitness studios | My 'one more rep' motivational post / CENSORED: Encourages dangerously high levels of self-improvement |
| software startups | Announcing 'our revolutionary new feature' / CENSORED: Threatens existing market equilibrium |
| coffee shops | My 'extra shot of espresso' order / CENSORED: Exceeds recommended caffeine intake |
| hair salons | Showcasing 'this amazing new haircut' / CENSORED: May cause widespread hair envy |
| accountants | Explaining 'tax season deductions' / CENSORED: Contains information too valuable for public consumption |
More questions
Can a business post the Illegal flower tribute meme?
Be careful. The meme's core message is about censorship and political sensitivity, making it unsuitable for most business contexts to avoid controversy. memeidea's brand-safety calls are AI-assisted suggestions, so check how the format is being used this week before posting.
What is a good Illegal flower tribute caption for a business?
For real estate: “My 'dream home' post / CENSORED: Contains excessive levels of awesomeness”. For dentists: “Posting about 'flossing every day' / CENSORED: Implies unrealistic oral hygiene standards”. For restaurants: “Sharing 'our secret ingredient' / CENSORED: Undisclosed culinary magic is forbidden”. More captions are in the table above.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Illegal flower tribute: article and page-view counts (Wikimedia API)
- Know Your Meme: origin and spread
- memeidea method: how stages and momentum are measured