An image macro is an expressive template involving the pairing of image with a caption/catchphrase.  The meaning expressed correlates with the emotion or idea that the picture displays, often resulting in very iconic images becoming memes (i.e. “Scumbag Steve” or “Overly Attached Girlfriend”). The text that is superimposed over the image is usually in large capitalized bold letters, and the phrasing usually follows an easily identifiable and modifiable structure (also known as a snowclone) (Rintel, Crisis Memes).

Some well-known groups of image macros would be LOLcats, Advice Animals, Rage Faces, and Demotivational Posters.

Works Cited:

“Image Macro.” Know Your Meme. Cheeseburger Network, n.d. Web. <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/image-macros>.

Rintel, Sean.  ”Crisis Memes: The Importance of Templatability to Internet Culture and Freedom of Expression.” Australasian Journal of Popular Culture 2 (2). <http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=202/>