I'm SpongeBob, also known as Hi, I'm SpongeBob, refers to a sound effect from the cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants in which SpongeBob's voice repeats "I'm SpongeBob, I'm SpongeBob" over and over, often overlapping. The "I'm SpongeBob" meme started on TikTok in early 2023 in the form of absurd SpongeBob memes. The trend later spread to both Instagram and YouTube. The original, SpongeBob episode that the sound was surfaced from was season 3, episode 43b "The Bully" in which SponeBob introduced himself to Flats the flounder by saying, "I'm SpongeBob." The sound also became notable due to the fan-made Roblox game The Spongy Construction Project.
Origin[]
On September 27th, 2022, TikToker @goofyahh.memes69 posted a video in which Grand Theft Auto character Michael was confronted by SpongeBob who said, "Hi, I'm SpongeBob." The video gained roughly 572,400 plays and 69,000 likes in seven months and is currently the first known meme to use the "I'm SpongeBob" sound.
The SpongeBob episode that the "I'm SpongeBob" sound effect is from is season 3, episode 43b "The Bully" which aired on Nickelodeon on October 5th, 2001. The sound effect is used in two consecutive scenes. In the first, SpongeBob introduces himself to Flats the flounder. In the second scene, SpongeBob is hiding in a toilet and having a flashback to when he introduced himself to Flats. The second use of the sound effect is the one that was used by TikToker @goofyahh.memes69 (YouTube upload shown below). It's also the same scene that the Oh That's Real Nice meme template originated.
The "I'm SpongeBob" sound effect also became well-known due to the fan-made Roblox game The Spongy Construction Project. When playing as SpongeBob in the game, one of SpongeBob's sound effects was saying, "Hi, I'm SpongeBob," evident in TikTok videos posted in early 2023.
Spread[]
On April 7th, 2023, TikToker @funniguy09 posted a video that used the Peter What Are You Doing? Crack scene from Family Guy and replaced Brian with a stock image of SpongeBob. The sound of SpongeBob's voice saying, "I'm SpongeBob" was used. Over the course of one month, the video gained roughly 35,500 plays and 3,500 likes (shown below).
TikToker @funniguy09 continued to post similar and increasingly absurd iterations of the "I'm SpongeBob" meme in April 2023. For instance, on April 12th, 2023, TikToker @funniguy09 posted a video that repeated the sound effect over and over again, using a CapCut template to show SpongeBob holding up a photo to an identical figure. The video gained roughly 890,100 plays and 102,200 likes in three weeks (shown below, left). Soon after, copycat gimmick accounts started to post "I'm SpongeBob" memes, such as TikToker @imspongebob42069 on April 14th, 2023, whose video gained roughly 57,100 plays and 3,600 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).
Original meme were posted to YouTube therafter, such as a One Hour Long version posted by YouTuber[7] 1hour Music on April 18th, gaining roughly 8,300 views in 16 days (shown below, left). On April 20th, YouTuber[8] GaryViews posted an "I'm SpongeBob" meme, gaining roughly 8,300 views in two weeks (shown below, right).