Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ‘Just Do It’ Ad Sparks Numerous Memes Online

Nike’s new “Just Do It” campaign celebrating the motto’s 30th anniversary, featuring American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has spurred a wide range of reactions from people, with some remaking the ad with other personalities.

The original ad was posted on Instagram on Sept. 4. The ad featured a black and white portrait of Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who knelt during the national anthem protesting police brutality and racism in 2016, with the caption "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." His peaceful protest sparked a huge movement with many others following his lead. The athlete went on to become an activist and an ambassador for Amnesty International.

The ad sparked a multitude of reactions, both positive and negative from people. While some chose to boycott Nike, others applauded the ingenuity of the advertisement.

Soon, parody memes to the ad, many of which are light-hearted and often silly, surfaced online.

People used movie characters like Thanos, from the Marvel universe movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the latest Avengers movie, to come up with funny memes.

Rapper 50 Cent also took to Twitter and Instagram in support of the advert. He even posted memes featuring famous stars like Eminem and boxer Floyd Mayweather.

“Good morning this is the BEST NIKE Campaign ever … what a statement, I can dig it man I like this … get the strap #lecheminduroi,” he wrote in an Instagram post with a picture of the Nike ad. This was followed by a set of memes.

The meme featuring Kanye West had the caption “Slavery was a choice” — a controversial statement made by the rapper earlier this year — with an Adidas logo.

“Adidas campaign ... Nah Yeezy be saying some b------t but he still ours meaning Hip Hop. i like this too not what he says, but what he is. … get the strap #lecheminduroi,” 50 Cent wrote in the Instagram post. Though he didn’t share the post on Twitter, many users of the platform shared it on their pages.

Soon, social media was filled with similar memes, but it’s hard to pinpoint who exactly began the trend.

The advert received a lot of negative backlash as well.

Many took to Twitter to show their anger against with hashtags like #BoycottNike and #JustBurnIt. American country music singer, John Rich, shared a picture of his Nike socks cut in two, removing the “swoosh” logo of the brand.

Another person lit a pair of Nike shoes he was wearing on fire, which ultimately burnt his feet.

Meanwhile, some urged the boycotters to donate the shoes to others instead of burning something they already paid for.

Nike also released a clip featuring Kaepernick and other athletes including LeBron James and Serena Williams, which began with a narrative by the former.

"If people say your dreams are crazy if they laugh at what you think you can do, good. Stay that way," Kaepernick said in the clip. "Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult, it's a compliment."

The ad closes with the lines, "So don't ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they're crazy enough."

The campaign generated $43 million in media exposure in the 24 hours since its unveiling, with just $10.91 million being negative, reports said.