Lost Media Enthusiasts Are On The Hunt For 'Shrek's Cringe Compilation' Lost Commercial

Lost media enthusiasts have been busy hunting for a very important piece of meme history this week: a lost, possibly inexistent HP commercial that the Shrek's Cringe Compilation meme is based on.

If you skipped the entirety of 2018 and are unfamiliar with the meme, Shrek's Cringe Compilation is a reaction image of Shrek holding a camera, captioned, "*SNAP* Yep. This one's going in my cringe compilation." Originally posted by an iFunny user, it became peak meme in mid-2018 and can occasionally still be seen under especially cringy posts to this day.

As it turns out, the image possibly comes from a 2003 or a 2004 HP commercial that is considered lost. While first attempts to uncover the theorized lost commercial were made in 2018 soon after the meme went viral, the search has been reignited last week by a viral tweet shared by @KennyLaude on February 12th.

Today I learned that the famous "this is going in my cringe compilation" image of Shrek is from a lost commercial. The meme & this image are the only parts of it that still exist. pic.twitter.com/LcauPi6eDf

— Kenny Lauderdale (@KennyLauderdal3) February 12, 2022

Lost media hunters on the Lost Commercials Foundation Discord have been busy searching for what they assume is a 2003 commercial for the HP Photosmart 945 camera (or some other HP product). So far, their combined efforts led to the discovery of an HP booklet that uses the very same Shrek model as the image used in the meme.

Shrek's tie-in ad for HP cameras is missing, despite its memetic infamy…

Join the search and help us peel back the layers!https://t.co/ujUZzMeN5C pic.twitter.com/bNbBSXqBx9

— Lost Commercials Foundation (@LostAdsFDN) February 14, 2022

In 2015, 3D artist Steve McGrath wrote about his work on an "advertisement for HP," sharing a close-up image of Shrek's camera that he modeled. Unfortunately, Mr. McGraph has since died, with this line of investigation severed by his passing.

So far it's been unclear whether the hypothetical commercial actually exists or if the image has some different origin. Other Shrek HP commercials have been found, though: check out this one in which Fiona tries to sell you an HP laptop.

If you know anything about the 2003 Shrek ads by HP or are interested in aiding the research, you can join the search on the Lost Commercials Foundation Discord server.