82:. Due to licensing complications, she removed the image from Getty and licensed it herself instead. She registered the copyright to the image in 2012, and since licensed the image to various advertisers. He appeared in an ad for Coca Cola as well as billboards for Virgin Mobile UK. In 2013, she hired "meme manager" Ben Lashes to represent her son and his interest, which led to deals to have the image put on T-shirts sold by
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about the challenges of raising a child and protecting that child's brand at the same time. They have been criticized by people who claimed that they were exploiting their son, which Laney has answered by saying that she had no control over whether the meme spread, and stated that she was not worried
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Griner has also taken action against those that have used the image without authorization. A fireworks company featured the image on one of its products without permission, and she sued, taking issue both with the fact that they were profiting from her son's likeness and the fact that he appeared to
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in 2007. In 2011, the anchor meme captioned "I Hate
Sandcastles" gained initial popularity, suggesting that the boy had just destroyed another child's sandcastle. Eventually, the interpretation of the image shifted, focusing on the boy's facial expression and clenched fist as a gesture of
134:. She was initially reluctant to associate the campaign with the "Success Kid" meme, wishing for it to focus on her husband's medical need, but changed her mind, and in the first five days it received donations of nearly $ 9,000 from 300 people. The campaign was linked to the website
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self-congratulation, adding captions that boasted of small personal victories and good fortune. Laney Griner disliked the "I Hate
Sandcastles" meme as she felt it made her son– who in fact loved sandcastles– look like a bully, but she embraced the "Success Kid" concept.
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86:. Griner also had licensed the image for use by Barack Obama's presidential staff in 2013 as part of an immigration reform campaign. The tweet included a link to a report that suggested that
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42:, the boy depicted in the photo, as "likely the Internet's most famous baby". In addition to popular use on social media, the image has been licensed for commercial use, and was used by the
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after he had used the
Success Kid image as part of a fundraising campaign without her permission. That lawsuit ultimately resulted in a jury awarding $ 750 in damages to Griner.
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featuring a baby clenching a fistful of sand with a determined facial expression. It began in 2007 and eventually became known as "Success Kid". The popularity of the image led
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by nearly $ 200 billion within 10 years, and was intended to raise support for the legislation in
Congress. The usage of the meme was met with mixed reception on Twitter.
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The picture of the meme originated from a photograph of Laney Griner's son Sam trying to eat sand. She uploaded the photo to
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Shortly before Sammy Griner's birth, his father Justin was diagnosed with kidney failure, for which he received
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416:"Iowa Republican receives cease-and-desist for using a beloved kid meme so the 'Lefties stay triggered"
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about backlash because "there are more people getting joy out of the picture than anything else."
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for four hours per session, three days a week. In April 2015, Laney Griner launched a
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campaign, hoping to raise $ 75,000 to help pay for his medical care and an eventual
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be endorsing an age-inappropriate product. In
January 2020, Laney Griner issued a
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284:"White House tweets Success Kid meme urging Congress to pass immigration reform"
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524:"'Success Kid' fundraising target smashed after Redditor posts Metro article"
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205:"'Success Kid' appeals to social media to get his dad a kidney transplant"
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547:"The Boy From The "Success Kid" Meme Is Trying To Get His Dad A Kidney"
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In 2012, Justin and Laney Griner spoke at a conference connected with
575:"Boy of 'Success Kid' Meme Fundraises For Father's Kidney Transplant"
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484:"Boom! Success Kid's mom sues fireworks company for using his image"
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After the meme became popular, Laney Griner licensed the picture to
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630:"Dad of 'Success Kid' Gets Successful Kidney Transplant"
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https://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/24/06/223623P.pdf
603:"Dad Of Viral 'Success Kid' Needs A Kidney Transplant"
50:. In mid-2015, the Griner family used it to promote a
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Griner v. King, No. 22-3623 (8th Cir. June 7, 2024),
256:"Virgin Media Using 'Success Kid' Meme For Marketing"
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655:"What ever happened to 'Success Kid' of meme fame?"
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390:"What to Expect When Your Kid Becomes a Meme"
317:"Success Kid's Dad Needs a Kidney Transplant"
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286:. New York Daily News. Archived from
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482:Wasserman, Todd (25 February 2015).
461:"Hot Topic: Success Kid T-Shirt 2XL"
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601:Bologna, Caroline (14 April 2015).
388:Erickson, Christine (10 May 2012).
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254:England, Jason (14 February 2012).
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439:"Success Kid Is From Jacksonville"
339:"Success Kid / I Hate Sandcastles"
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688:Internet memes introduced in 2007
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545:Zarrell, Rachel (14 April 2015).
522:Readhead, Harry (15 April 2015).
177:Griner, Laney (31 August 2007).
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437:Feagins, Karen (5 April 2013).
282:Larson, Leslie (19 June 2013).
230:"Super Bowl 2015: Coca-Cola Ad"
414:Lyons, Kim (28 January 2020).
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232:. WSJ Video. 1 February 2015
23:Success Kid's original photo
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203:Payne, Ed (15 April 2015).
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663:(video), December 13, 2016
632:. ABC News. 19 August 2015
360:June, Laura (7 May 2012).
90:could lead to cutting the
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319:. ABC News. 14 April 2015
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608:The Huffington Post
179:"What I oughta ..."
156:The Huffington Post
258:. New Rising Media
88:immigration reform
80:stock photo agency
48:immigration reform
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693:Color photographs
683:2000s photographs
132:kidney transplant
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76:Getty Images
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40:Sammy Griner
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38:to describe
28:Success Kid
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636:2 September
441:. WJCT News
418:. The Verge
364:. The Verge
345:9 September
185:9 September
46:to promote
44:White House
678:2007 works
672:Categories
392:. Mashable
162:References
104:Steve King
92:US deficit
84:Hot Topic
660:CBS News
614:16 April
586:16 April
558:16 April
552:BuzzFeed
530:16 April
495:16 April
489:Mashable
463:. Amazon
445:17 April
396:16 April
368:16 April
323:16 April
211:16 April
148:BuzzFeed
140:ABC News
128:GoFundMe
124:dialysis
52:GoFundMe
526:. Metro
111:ROFLCon
62:History
181:Flickr
150:, and
136:Reddit
68:Flickr
30:is an
207:. CNN
638:2016
616:2015
588:2015
580:Time
560:2015
532:2015
497:2015
469:2023
447:2015
424:2023
398:2015
370:2015
347:2023
325:2015
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264:2023
238:2023
213:2015
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152:Time
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144:CNN
36:CNN
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