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The protest movement may not be televised, yet it might possess webbed feet and protruding eyes.

It also might feature a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

As protests opposing the leadership carry on in US cities, demonstrators have embraced the energy of a local block party. They've offered salsa lessons, given away treats, and performed on unicycles, as police look on.

Blending comedy and politics – a tactic experts call "tactical frivolity" – has historical precedent. Yet it has transformed into a defining feature of protests in the United States in the current era, adopted by various groups.

A specific icon has emerged as especially powerful – the frog. It originated when a video of a clash between an individual in a frog suit and ICE agents in Portland, Oregon, went viral. From there, it proliferated to protests nationwide.

"There is much going on with that humble blow-up amphibian," states LM Bogad, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who focuses on creative activism.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's hard to examine demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, a cartoon character embraced by online communities during a political race.

As the character initially spread online, it was used to convey specific feelings. Afterwards, it was utilized to show support for a political figure, even one notable meme shared by that figure himself, portraying Pepe with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in digital spaces in offensive ways, portrayed as a hate group member. Online conservatives traded "unique frog images" and established cryptocurrency using its likeness. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was used an inside joke.

Yet the character did not originate so controversial.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has stated about his disapproval for its co-option. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

Pepe debuted in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – apolitical and best known for a quirky behavior. In a documentary, which documents Mr Furie's efforts to wrest back control of his work, he said the character came from his life with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, the artist experimented with sharing his art to the nascent social web, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As its popularity grew into darker parts of the internet, Mr Furie attempted to distance himself from his creation, even killing him off in a comic strip.

However, its legacy continued.

"It shows that creators cannot own symbols," says the professor. "They can change and shift and be reworked."

Until recently, the association of this meme resulted in amphibian imagery were predominantly linked to conservative politics. This shifted recently, when a confrontation between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon captured global attention.

The event followed an order to send the National Guard to the city, which was described as "war-ravaged". Demonstrators began to congregate at a specific location, just outside of a federal building.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer sprayed irritant at the individual, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the costume.

Seth Todd, the man in the costume, responded with a joke, stating it tasted like "spicier tamales". But the incident spread everywhere.

The costume was not too unusual for Portland, famous for its quirky culture and activist demonstrations that embrace the absurd – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Keep Portland Weird."

The frog was also referenced in the ensuing legal battle between the administration and Portland, which argued the deployment was illegal.

Although a judge decided that month that the administration had the right to deploy troops, one judge dissented, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "known tendency for donning inflatable costumes when expressing their disagreement."

"It is easy to see this decision, which adopts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge wrote. "However, this ruling is not merely absurd."

The action was "permanently" blocked soon after, and troops are said to have left the city.

Yet already, the amphibian costume had become a significant anti-administration symbol for the left.

The inflatable suit appeared across the country at No Kings protests that fall. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and global metropolises abroad.

The frog costume was sold out on major websites, and became more expensive.

Controlling the Optics

What brings the two amphibian symbols – is the relationship between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

The tactic rests on what Mr Bogad calls a "disarming display" – often silly, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" performance that calls attention to your ideas without explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit used, or the meme you share.

The professor is both an expert on this topic and an experienced participant. He authored a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"You could go back to historical periods – when people are dominated, they use absurdity to speak the truth indirectly and still have a layer of protection."

The idea of this approach is three-fold, he says.

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