Crocs Can’t Stop Going Viral in 2023
Official collaborations with Shrek, MSCHF, McDonald’s, and more prove that Crocs is paying attention to the internet's greatest memes. So far, it's paid off.
For years, the colorful rubber clogs made by Crocs were a meme for all of the wrong reasons. They were a faux pas that nobody even semi-fashionable would be caught dead wearing. Nowadays, that couldn’t be further from the truth. With the help of creators like Salehe Bembury, Crocs have become one of the most popular pieces of footwear on the market. And it isn’t just the unique collaborations. The classic $50 version has become ubiquitous. Walk down the street and you’ll surely see a few of them.
Despite shedding its bad reputation, Crocs still knows how to get the Internet talking. Throughout 2023, we have seen the brand lean into playfulness with a variety of special projects. MSCHF’s Big Reds Boots became the biggest meme on the Internet. Crocs tapped the creative collective for a yellow boot/clog hybrid that hijacked the news cycle at Paris Fashion Week when it debuted. Shrek has been a long-running meme for years on our social media timelines. The green ogre was Croc-ified in September 2023. In June 2023, the internet was celebrating Grimace’s birthday and his special-edition McDonald’s shake morphed into a very weird TikTok trend. In November 2023, Crocs released fuzzy slides that mimic Ronald McDonald’s big purple buddy.
The Crocs team is clearly keeping up with the latest and greatest Internet memes, and it keeps paying off for them. Take a look at some of Crocs’ most viral releases of 2023, below.
Lightning McQueen
No, unfortunately these won’t make you run as fast as Lightning McQueen drives in the Piston Cup, but these Crocs resembling the Cars main protagonist still had people flocking to stores to buy them. Maybe it’s nostalgia? Maybe it’s the sheer ridiculousness of wearing light-up rubber clogs that look like an animated car? Whatever the reason, we still can’t believe we saw resellers running up on Crocs stores trying to buy out their entire stock. Some locations even had to post signs enforcing a one-pair limit to curb the antics. These first debuted in April 2021 and have restocked a few times since. According to Crocs, the 2023 restock sold out within minutes on crocs.com. They don’t flip for much these days, but there’s no denying that these may have started it all when it comes to Crocs leaning into memeable collabs. Kachow!
MSCHF Big Yellow Boots
No footwear release in recent memory went as viral as MSCHF’s Big Red Boots. Honestly, everything MSCHF does is destined for virality. So it should probably have come as no surprise that Crocs teamed up with the design collective in 2023 for the Big Yellow Boots, a new take on the Big Red Boot complete with Crocs signatures like a heel strap and holes in the toe. The rollout for these was utter ridiculousness. Tommy Cash debuted them in a mime costume during Paris Fashion Week. Aughts icon Paris Hilton appeared in the official campaign imagery to promote the launch. While Crocs couldn’t provide any specific numbers, it did say that the project outperformed benchmarks and resulted in double-digit engagement rates on its social platforms. These didn’t live up to the massive hype of their predecessor, but they did signify that Crocs wasn’t shy about leaning into the trending topics on social media to make some noise.
Shrek
Depending on your age, you either see Shrek as the lead character in one of the best animated film franchises of all time or a meme proliferated by the oddest corners of the Internet. No matter what side you align with, Crocs made sure to tap into that nostalgia with some ogre-looking rubber clogs in September 2023. The execution was clearly meant to be goofy. The Jibbitz included a green nose and two ears, so that each foot looked like Shrek’s face. These certainly weren't created for stylish purposes. But that didn't stop some people from trying to get a fit off. According to Crocs, the release had the highest launch-day traffic to date on crocs.com. Not bad for an ogre who lives in a swamp.
Cowboy Boots
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in this pitch meeting. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that the Crocs Cowboy Boots aren’t meant to be taken seriously. These black Crocs boast a textured reptile print to mimic traditional leather cowboy boots, a leather ankle collar covered in silver embroidery, and even include a plastic spur on the strap. When it comes to practicality, these don’t really get the job done. You should probably wear some steel toe boots to the rodeo, and these aren’t exactly as easy to slip on as the Crocs in your closet. But they did get the Internet to stop and stare. According to Crocs, the unorthodox clogs drove billions of impressions globally. Sure, some people bought these to wear. Props to this guy for kind of pulling them off actually. But what this drop really represents is viral marketing done right.
Mater
Lightning McQueen may be the main character of Cars, but for a lot of people the most beloved vehicle in the Cars universe is Mater. The rusty old tow truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy has developed a cult-like fan base over the years, which made him the perfect character to add to the Cars Crocs universe. The two truck hitch on the strap is the perfect touch. Some people have even found a hidden Easter egg and treated these things like toys. Crocs knew exactly what they were doing with these. They capitalized on the hype of the original Lightning McQueen pairs, and it seems to have paid off.
McDonald's
Grimace was one of the biggest memes of 2023. So of course the purple McDonald’s mascot had to be given his own Crocs sandals. But he isn’t alone. Crocs also cooked up footwear to represent some other iconic mascots from the fast-food franchise like Ronald McDonald, Hamburglar, and Birdie. The pack initially launched in Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, and South Korea on Nov. 7 before dropping stateside on Nov. 14. According to Crocs, the drop has garnered over 10 billion media impressions globally. Of course, Grimace’s sandal has caused the most excitement. It sold out in less than 10 minutes in China. McDonald’s nostalgia just can’t be beat. I bet now you want to go order a Big Mac meal for lunch.
