How the GE2017 conversation was commandeered by an intergalactic space lord

Amidst a night of arguments, tension, exit polls, surprises and hasty minority government maths, a very British tradition provided some welcome comic relief.

Those of us that stayed up to watch could rightly assume that they had, in fact, dropped off and were dreaming when they saw Mr Fishfinger swimming in the background as Tim Farron gave his victory speech in Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Irregular election candidates are right up there with the other bastions of British strangeness - along with Morris Dancing, Cheese rolling, and Bog Snorkling. As well as entertaining us, they remind us that we live in a truly democratic country, and that you’re free to make a complete fool of yourself in front of millions if you so choose.

During the build up to the election, conversations on social media were, as expected, all about the issues – Brexit, the NHS, immigration and defence, all topping our custom election tracker.

But on the night the discussion around irregular candidates suddenly spiked... and one in particular stood out after stealing the limelight from the Prime Minister. He appeared next to Theresa May in every shot, and became an immediate online sensation by dabbing as his vote count was called.

It was none other than…

Lord Buckethead

Stats : 249 votes. 27.4k conversations, 82.2k engagements, 99.6 million impressions and a 716 million potential reach.

An intergalactic space lord who, according to his Twitter bio, enjoys planet-conquering, dominating inferior species, and Lovejoy. Lord Buckethead captured the British imagination on election night, and his manifesto became a real driver of conversations with popular policies such as “Stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Start buying lasers from Lord Buckethead” and “Katie Hopkins to be banished to the Phantom Zone”.

He had an international appeal, with conversations stemming from all over the world, including the USA, Australia, Canada, and even Ecuador, Morocco, India and Nepal.

He was even picked up by some major international news organisations:

And compared to other fantastical competitors above, he was by far and away the most discussed on the night:

So, whilst he only managed to bring in 249 votes (which, incidentally, was a new Buckethead record), content around him appeared on 716 million social media newsfeeds globally, and his following grew to 82.5k followers overnight. And all this, by leveraging humour and taking the misery out of what had been a gruelling campaign for all parties involved. Although he didn't stand a chance of winning (well, it was unlikely at best), offering a respite to the seriousness of the matter lifted spirits and gave audiences something to be happy about, as well as amuse themselves in conversation over.

Want to grow your online coverage like our nascent Lord? Try donning a cape, some cricket pads and a bucket, and track your success with Pulsar!