Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad has become a meme - and it's great news for the brand

Nike/Colin Kaepernick via Twitter

Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad has become a meme.

• Nike's polarizing Colin Kaepernick ad has inspired countless memes. 
• Everyone from meme accounts to Donald Trump Jr. are posting their own versions of the "Just Do It" ad. 
• The meme-ification of the Kaepernick ad is evidence of the campaign's reach and distinctiveness.

Nike's polarizing Colin Kaepernick ad is already a meme. 

On Monday, Kaepernick shared an image of his face on Twitter with the words "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." On Wednesday, Nike released the full version of the commercial, which is narrated by Kaepernick and features a range of athletes including inspirational amateurs, Serena Williams, and LeBron James.

Over the last week, social media has been flooded with people posting their own versions of what it means to sacrifice everything and #JustDoIt. 

The style - a black-and-white photo, typically a close-up of someone's face - makes it easy to replicate for any well-known celebrity, character, or even just a random person. 

The meme has also been adopted for political purposes. One of the most popular versions of the meme is a photo of President Donald Trump. 

Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, additionally posted a meme of Sen. Bernie Sanders with the caption: "This #meme format may never get old ...#maga #memewars." 

Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci is also seemingly a fan of the meme, posting a photo of himself - wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat - with his wife, Deidre. 

Deidre reportedly filed for divorced in 2017 because Scaramucci had taken the White House job without telling her first, she said. The couple has since called off their divorce. 

Nike's Kaepernick ad has seen a polarized response over the last week. 

Critics have threatened to boycott the brand, with some people even destroying Nike socks and shoes and posting about it on social media. President Trump criticized the campaign as a bad business decision, tweeting on Friday morning: "What was Nike thinking?" 

However, data indicates that anger directed at Nike is already dying down. And, most business and brand observers say that Nike seems to have carefully weighed the risks of running the Kaepernick ad.

The meme-ification of the Kaepernick ad is evidence of the campaign's reach and distinctiveness. For something to become a widespread meme, it needs to have fully hit the mainstream. With characters from meme accounts to Scaramucci chiming in, a huge chunk of people across the US seem to have at least heard of Nike's Kaepernick campaign, whether or not they support it. 

Second, the ease with which Kaepernick's image can be transformed, while still retaining its connection to the original, speaks to the stylistic power of the ad. Nike has a history of innovative advertising and has created some iconic images over the years. The memes only make it more likely that the Kaepernick ad will become the brand's latest iconic creation. 

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