Absolutely. I have this theory that part of the reason that meme culture is often so absurd, obscure and frequently offensive exactly to prevent its co-option and commercialization.
Case and point: Two years ago Hot Topic started selling "rage guy" t-shirts. The internet decided it would be having none of that and coerced the meme "rage guy" into "race guy" by pumping out tonnes of racist comics. Hot Topic were forced to withdraw its t-shirt range.
