Are [snowclones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowclone) common in Japanese?

> A snowclone is a neologism for a type of cliché and phrasal template
> originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable,
> time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an
> entirely open array of different variants".
>
> An example of a snowclone is "grey is the new black", a version of the
> template "X is the new Y". X and Y may be replaced with different words or
> phrases – for example, "comedy is the new rock 'n' roll". The term
> "snowclone" can be applied to both the original phrase and to any new phrase
> that uses its formula. Many Internet memes are snowclones: for example, the
> meme "obvious troll is obvious" has been generalized to many other
> statements of the form "X Y is X".

If I use snowclones myself, am I likely to be understood (all other things
being equal), or will it just cause confusion?

EDIT: To expand a bit on the definition given above, a snowclone is a phrase
pattern cliche. Unlike most cliches which use the same words every time, a
snowclone is a cliche whose parts can be replaced to make a new (but
recognizable) cliche. The term was
[requested](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000350.html),
and eventually
[coined](http://agoraphilia.blogspot.com/2004_01_11_agoraphilia_archive.html#107412842921919301)
mainly for terms journalists use.

"X is the new Y" is a comment on fads/fashions, indicating that "everyone who
was excited/worried about X is excited about Y now", regardless of what domain
X and Y are in. (It's not limited to pop culture, I've heard "Portugal is the
new Greece" in reference to the EU's economic issues)
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question
phrases puns
Are snowclones common in Japanese?
Caveat emptor: My sphere of knowledge is biased towards internet slangs.

The phenomenon of snowcloning is common in Japanese, while the term itself is
not widely known.

  * 能登かわいいよ能登 -> XかわいいよX (The original phrase made it into a slang dictionary published in 2007)
  * 見ろ! 人がゴミのようだ! -> 見ろ! XがYのようだ! (With Y being ゴミ in most cases)
  * パンが無いならお菓子を食べればいいじゃない -> XがYならZすればいいじゃない
  * 鳴かぬなら鳴かせてみせようホトトギス -> XならX/Yしてみせよう/しまえZ

I can't readily come up with phrases used in journalism though. (Maybe not
enough exposure.)

Nitpicky sidenote: By definition, snowclones are "instantly recognizable". As
long as the other person recognizes the phrase structure, the fact that you
just swapped some variables will not be confusing. If you're unsure that the
phrase structure will be recognized, you can mark that it's a reference to a
cliché by using "いわゆる": いわゆる[your snowclone phrase here]ってやつですね。
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