Doubtless you’ve seen Bernie everywhere thanks to the 79-year-old senator’s distinctive appearance all bundled up with patterned mittens at the inauguration and the accessibility of Photoshop.
The “grumpy chic” meme, as CNN described it, has gone viral, and Bernie Sanders now appears everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. There’s even a tutorial on YouTube entitled How To Make Bernie Sanders Pics! (That’s the source for the screen shot above.)
You can’t just ask, “Where in the world is Bernie,” as he could have appeared anywhere in the universe and not just in our universe either.
Space.com reported on images that launched the senator into orbit for messages about the importance of space exploration. But Bernie even got to board the fictional spaceships alongside the famous crews of Star Wars, Star Trek, and other films.
Of course, some brands also wanted to get on board this bandwagon, and you can find several examples of how they adapted the Bernie meme for their own messaging in AdAge’s THE 18 Craftiest Brand Memes Featuring Bernie Sanders and His Inauguration Mittens.
For some brands, the meme itself became the product marketed. So now you can buy your very own Bernie image and proudly show it off on a shirt (with proceeds for a cause) or mug, or literally hundreds of other objects listed on Etsy.
It’s just a tad ironic that the man who does proudly embrace communist ideals can spur so much capitalism.
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