The 'New Funky Mode' meme originated from the 2018 Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, which introduced an easier difficulty setting featuring the surf-loving Funky Kong. The distinctive yellow and red promotional sticker on the box art quickly became a parody staple, with internet users photoshopping the 'New Funky Mode' logo onto various unrelated game covers, historical photos, and movie posters. The meme captures the absurdity of corporate marketing while celebrating the laid-back, cool-guy persona of Funky Kong. It is primarily used to suggest that adding a 'funky' version of something makes it inherently better, regardless of the original context's seriousness.