The clip comes from an advertisement for Yoshi's Cookie, the Nintendo puzzle game starring Yoshi, the green dinosaur from the Mario series, where his cheerful squeak was used to sell the game's playful tone. Lifted from that ad, the meep later circulated as a tiny meme sound on soundboards and in short edits, where its brevity made it easy to reuse again and again. It has stayed popular because Mario fans recognise Yoshi instantly, and a single squeak can turn an ordinary reaction into something cute, silly and unmistakably Nintendo.