Everything old is new again—including the debate over how to pronounce Graphics Interchange Format GIF.
In a revived attempt to set the record straight, peanut butter brand Jif and looping video database Giphy teamed up to release a special jar of spread.
The tongue-in-cheek bottles, which actually say “GIF” on the front, are currently sold out on Amazon; there is no word on whether the collectibles will be restocked.
“We’re [putting] a lid on this decade-long debate and prove there is only one Jif,” Rebecca Scheidler, vice president of marketing at Jif, said in a statement.
“It’s creamy, delicious peanut butter, not a looping picture you can send to make friends and family laugh,” she continued. “So spread the word like Jif on bread—Jif is peanut butter, GIFs are animations.”
The brands’ definitive answer comes just in time for National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day on March 1 (mark your calendars).
“If you’re a soft G, please visit Jif.com. If you’re a hard G, thank you, we know you’re right,” Giphy founder and CEO Alex Chung said. “Whether you like your Gs hard or soft, let’s all share some fun and let peanut butter unite us in saying GIF and eating Jif.”
The debate has been raging for years, like a Bugs Bunny-vs-Donald Duck tussle; a former U.S. president even weighed in.
But, if the English language calls for the hard G sound when an “I,” “E,” or “Y” follow the letter, should the acronym—which begins with the hard-G word “Graphics”—be an exception?
Not according to graphics creator Steve Wilhite.
“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations,” he told The New York Times in 2013. “They are wrong. It’s a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘JIF.’ End of story.”
Wilhite invented the Graphics Interchange Format in 1987, providing a bitmapped graphics file that has recently made its internet resurgence among meme-loving bloggers.
Now it’s time to focus on the more important question: peanut butter—creamy or crunchy?
More on Geek.com:
- Turn Your Face Into a GIF With Snapchat Cameos
- Twitter Now Lets You Add GIFs, Photos, Videos to Retweets
- GIF is Oxford’s 2012 Word of the Year
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