The Running Away Balloon meme features a two-panel webcomic with simple yet expressive characters. The first panel shows a grey character reaching out for a yellow balloon, symbolizing a goal or desire. In the second panel, a pink character is seen pulling the grey character away from the balloon, acting as an obstacle or limitation. The visual simplicity of the comic allows for various captions and labels to be added, adapting the meme to different contexts and messages.
The Running Away Balloon meme was first introduced by a Facebook user and webcomic artist known as Superlmer. The original comic was shared on April 21st, 2017, depicting the balloon as 'opportunities' and the pink character as 'shyness.' This comic quickly gained traction online. About two weeks after its initial posting, a variation of the meme appeared in a post on Twitter (now X) by @drunktwi with the caption translating to 'When I planned to go to bed early, that would be good to sleep,' adding further momentum to its spread across social media.[1]
Origin: 2017