Heart Locket GIF

About

Heart Locket GIF refers to an exploitable GIF format in which custom image and text are added onto an animated GIF of a red 3D heart locket opening. Generated with MakeSweet and popularized by a Bingus edit, the GIF format gained viral popularity in February 2021. The memes often combine an image of a person or a character with the catchphrase My Beloved.

Origin

On February 2008, personal blog MakeSweet^[1][2] by developer Paul "paulfitz" Fitzpatrick added a tool for making simple custom animations, with images submitted by users being placed onto a variety of animated objects. The list of available GIFs included a 3D GIF of a red heart-shaped locket that opened to reveal its contents (shown below). In March 2008, MakeSweet^[3] added a version of the animation in higher resolution.

The generator did not see use in memes prior to early October 2020, when a version of the GIF with a photograph of Bingus and text "bingus my beloved" became viral in now-defunct Binguscord Discord server (shown below). On October 11th, Tenor^[4] user Desphanitom uploaded the GIF. The GIF spawned both Heart Locket GIF and My Beloved memes.

Spread

In the following weeks, the GIF received viral spread through multiple reposts.^[5] On October 19th, Tumblr^[6] user pompadorbz posted the earliest known derivative media within the format, a fan art of the Danganronpa character Kiyotaka Ishimaru that received over 1,900 likes and reblogs in nine months (shown below, left). More edits and redraws of the original Bingus meme were posted (shown below, center and right), with the awareness of the generator failing to spread until late December 2020.

On December 24th, Tenor^[7] user akechikun posted the earliest found derivative meme that used the generator, a tribute to YouTuber and Dream SMP member Ranboo (shown below, left). On December 28th, 2020, MakeSweet tweeted^[8] about a sudden an influx of users, also posting about discovering the viral popularity of the Bingus version of the meme (shown below, right).

On January 28th, 2021, gimmick Twitter^[9] account every image in the heart locket (@TheSameHeartGif) was launched, posting memes created using the generator (first posted meme^[10] shown below, left). On January 29th, 2021, the account made its first viral post,^[11] an ironic Among Us meme that received over 1,000 retweets and 8,500 likes in five months (shown below, center). In late January and early February 2021, the account posted multiple user-submitted memes, with a number of posts gaining over 10,000 likes. For example, a Gangster Spongebob meme posted^[12] on January 30th gained over 10,000 retweets and 69,000 likes in five months (shown below, right).

On February 19th, Tumblr user leidensygdom^[13] posted a Get Stick Bugged Lol meme that received over 53,000 likes and reblogs in five months. On February 22nd, Tumblr^[14] user johnnyjoestarrelatable posted a meme in which they inquired about the method for making the GIFs, with hellobendykitty linking the site and johnnyjoestarrelatable replying with a meme made in the generator. The exchange (shown below) received over 189,800 likes and reblogs on Tumblr in five months, with its screenshot gaining over 26,500 retweets and 146,600 likes on Twitter.^[15]

The format regained popularity in early June 2021 after the gimmick Twitter account posted several viral versions, including a June 3rd post^[16] that gained over 1.5 million views, 30,100 retweets and 188,200 likes (shown below, left).

On June 20th, YouTuber Landon's agency ARKH bought digital billboard space on Times Square to display content promoting Minecraft streamer Ranboo, particularly the Ranboo My Beloved heart locket GIF that in the previous months grew to become a local meme within the streamer's community. Photographs and videos of the content being displayed on Times Square gained viral spread; for example, a tweet^[17] by @arkh received over 11,400 retweets and 90,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Related Memes

My Beloved

My Beloved is a catchphrase that is used in conjunction with a name in a person of a character, usually as a caption or title for memes about them. Sharing its origin and often used together with Heart Locket GIF, the catchphrase gained popularity through memes and fan-art created by stans of Dream SMP members and k-pop bands.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References