The wide Putin format grew out of online meme culture, where a stretched image of Vladimir Putin walking is set to a catchy song to make an ordinary entrance feel grand and ridiculous. Mixing that format with a Michael Jackson track follows the same joke, swapping in a globally recognisable pop voice that listeners spot immediately. The clip has since circulated as a short soundboard sound for reaction edits, parody videos and ironic dance posts, where the humour comes from the contrast between a serious political figure and playful pop music.