The Office is one of the funniest sitcoms of all time, and the series has really aged well. Fans never tire of quoting any one of the hilarious characters, and there are an incalculable number of quips and one-liners that would probably make some really good memes.
But, Creed Bratton is undeniably one of the funniest characters in the series, and he’s definitely one of the most meme-able. Although Creed spends most of his time inserting thoughts into conversations that have absolutely no relation to what’s actually being discussed, that makes his lines even easier to translate into internet jokes.
Ageism In The Workplace
“I’m 30. Well, in November I’ll be 30.”
When Creed starts suddenly feeling like his position at Dunder Mifflin might be in danger on account of his age, he goes out of his way to start pretending that he’s a bit more youthful.
He goes a little overboard to be sure, but honestly, Creed’s bizarre behavior is actually weirdly relatable in this instance. Ageism is an unfortunate reality of the world today, but Creed’s reaction and hilariously unbelievable ploy to seem younger at least makes it funny.
Life Aspirations
“If this gets out, they won’t let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, what am I working toward?”
Despite only being a 29-year-old man, Creed seems like he has lived 20 separate lives before becoming an employee of the titular office.
The Office is in itself a perfect yet painful send-up of the pointless mundanity of most jobs, but Creed’s reaction to potentially losing his ability to scuba only highlights the absurdity even further. It’s nice to see Creed is actually motivated to do something (despite never mentioning it before or since), and this Office quote is actually even funnier out of context.
Odd Observations
“You ever notice you can only ooze two things? Sexuality and pus.”
The human body is almost certainly capable of oozing much more than sexuality and/or pus, but this kind of ridiculous statement is exactly what the best memes are made of.
It’s a bizarre thing to say that would likely make many people hearing it vaguely uncomfortable, which really makes it a quintessential Creed quote. But it’s not hard to envision a world where this line could be applied to many different characters or situations in meme format.
Actually Insightful
“The Only Difference Between Me And A Homeless Man Is This Job.”
It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at this line, because it’s undeniably funny but is actually one of the wisest and most frightening things that Creed Bratton ever said.
Sure, he means it in a different way than most people would, as he is quite literally living out of the office, but his saying applies to nearly everyone. Considering how relatable this quote is, it’s surprising that it hasn’t become a bigger meme from the series.
That Doesn’t Sound Right
“You know a human can go on living for several hours after being decapitated.”
One thing that the internet is known for above almost everything else is the fact that there are always people spouting off the most unbelievable ideas and stating them as if they’re facts.
Having this Creed quote at the ready in meme form would be an ideal retort for whatever ridiculousness Office fans find around the internet, and perhaps forcing the people who blabber this kind of nonsense to recognize that they’re sounding like Creed would make them reconsider their behavior.
The Morality Claus
Creed: What if you’ve been bad?
Phyllis: Oh, then nothing but a lump of coal for you!
Creed: What if you’ve been really, really bad? Like more evil, and strictly wrong.
Obviously it’s fiction, but it’s borderline unbelievable that the other employees of Dunder Mifflin were capable of working with Creed without letting the cataclysmic terror that he inspires overwhelm them.
Although it’s not presently the time of Christmas cheer, having this dialog at the ready when confronted with classic Christmas concepts would be a perfectly hilarious way to throw people off. And Creed’s hyper-specific and philosophical inquiry regarding Santa’s naughty and nice rules fits in with the ludicrousness of meme culture flawlessly.
Slacking At Work
“Every week, I’m supposed to take four hours and do a quality spot-check at the paper mill. And of course, the one year I blow it off, this happens.”
This line is funny under any circumstance, but in the Bizarro world of the pandemic, Creed’s words feel downright prescient.
Although even the most lackadaisical of employees surely puts in more than a few hours of effort per year, in an era where people barely leave their houses, it sounds downright rational to skip the actual working parts of work for a month or two without worrying about the potential fallout. And realistically, the fallout wouldn’t be anything nearly as bad as paper batches with NSFW illustrations on them.
Cult Economics
“I’ve been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader.”
This is certainly the kind of weird, unique insight that would be disseminated across the internet. And, like many of Creed’s quotes, it’s a line that is just as funny if not funnier without context.
It’s definitely easier to imagine Creed as a cult follower rather than a cult leader, and fans can only imagine how he must have terrorized anyone gullible enough or strange enough to follow him. Still, his advice here does seem solid.
Proud To Be An American
“I Already Won The Lottery, I Was Born In The U-S Of A, Baby.”
Many Americans show no restraint when it comes to injecting patriotism into the oddest of places, and while Creed doesn’t seem like the type, he made his feelings about the United States clear when he uttered this line.
This quote works because it’s so random in its original scene, and it would make for some great meme inspiration because it honestly gets even funnier if it’s shoehorned into less and less appropriate situations or conversations.
Getting Lucky
“It’s Halloween, That Is Really, Really Good Timing.”
Creed’s behavior is so unsettling that plenty of fans have theorized that he might be the mysterious Scranton Strangler. However, if this moment is anything to go by, he prefers a considerably bloodier method of violence.
And although this moment was arguably one of the scariest in Creed Bratton’s history on The Office, at least it’s somewhat admirable that his commitment to his job was so intense that he didn’t even bother washing the blood of lest he show up late for work.
Apparently An Alias
“Nobody steals from Creed Bratton and gets away with it. The last person to do this disappeared. His name: Creed Bratton.”
Many of Creed’s lines in The Office have been hilarious, bizarre, or downright scary. But there is truly no moment more terrifying than the scene where he decides to reveal to the camera that he’s not even Creed Bratton.
This would also make for a perfect meme format though, as anyone could replace the name “Creed Bratton” with someone else’s name and create an equally confusing and intimidating statement about themselves or other people.
