Is The Internet’s New Favorite Meme, ‘Vadering,’ Just Chick-fil-A Viral Marketing?

Kamehameha-ing is SO March 2013. This month, all the cool Internet kids are Vadering, the hip new meme in which one participant is seen seemingly floating in the air while the other uses the Force to strangle them from afar. It’s a much better viral sensation than, say, planking and has quickly spread across Twitter and Tumblr, with thousands of Vader wannabees killing their fake Admiral Mottis. But is it at all a marketing strategy?
Vadering took off with this Reddit post. Your eye is immediately drawn to the red in the middle of the picture. And the red just so happens to be the Chick-fil-A logo on a perfectly placed cup. This could be a coincidence, but the OP is a bit of a Reddit newbie and it’s not like Vadering is spontaneous; you need to plan the shot. The soda cup is there for a specific reason, and considering the comments sections of other websites that have picked up the picture, with mention after mention of (the terrible) Chick-fil-A, I’d say the reason is doing its job.
Luckily, the rest of the Vadering photos are free of strategically placed cups. Here are some of the best.

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