About
Face-off! refers to a video meme format that pitches two videos which are similar in some regard against each other. The battle is preceded by a man shouting “Face-off!” and is accompanied by a sound of pen tapping.
Origin
On February 11th, 2016, Vine user shut up sabash posted a video titled “very intense battle” in which two videos of boys dancing awkwardly are featured. The video opens with a soundbite of a man shouting, “Face-off!,” and is accompanied by a pen tapping sound from a viral 2010 video “Pen Tapping Battle.” The video ends with a soundbite of an unknown man shouting “Woooooo!”.
The vine (shown below) received over 5,900 likes, 2,600 revines and 225,700 loops in four years.
Face-off! Woooooo!
Spread
The meme format did not see spread until on March 29th, 2016, Vine user the cable turned off cade posted another video based on it, comparing the Brazil Dog Dance with another similar dog video (shown below). The post received over 58,200 likes, 23,800 revines and 2 million loops in four years. Several YouTube reuploads of the Vine were made in 2016.
the cable turned off cade’s post inspired more similar memes in the following days; for example, on March 30th, 2016, Vine user Craig’s Last posted an edit that received over 227,600 loops in four years.
Prior to 2020, the format maintained limited popularity online with the format seeing occasional use on Instagram and YouTube. For example, on June 14th, 2017, YouTube user Chodie Chode-Man posted an edit that received over 24,000 views in three years (shown below, left). On October 15th, 2019, YouTube user Gizzmo reposted a meme that gained over 25,400 views in nine months (shown below, right).
Starting approximately in February 2020, the format saw a surge in popularity on several major online platforms, although the trigger for this uptick is unknown. Starting in February 2020, viral memes based on the format were posted on YouTube, Instagram,iFunny and other platforms. On May 16th, 2020, TikTok user Platebreaker posted an edit pitching the viral spinning GIF of YandereDev against a similar GIF of Martin Cabello III. The video (shown below) received over 288,500 views and 49,500 likes in two months, promoting the further spread of the format.
Various Examples
Search Interest
Know Your Meme Store
External References
Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/face-off