When he was nine years old, Dieunerst Collin became a meme. He was the kid who appeared in a video posted to Vine, the long dead video sharing app, standing in a Popeyes in Irvington, New Jersey, holding a cup of lemonade, giving the camera side-eye. The video lived on as a gift. Collin became known as the “Popeyes meme kid.” Now look at him. He’s 18 years old and he’s got his very first Popeyes commercial.
The ad — which, like the Breaking Bad one, dropped online less than a week before it airs during this year’s Super Bowl — features the teenage Collin shilling for one of the nation’s finest fried chicken chains.
“You might know me, I used to be that meme kid. And now, I’m in Popeyes’ big game ad,” Collin says while driving a Tesla. “It’s got all of those things those ads have, like a nice ride. Electric, of course.” He adds, “It’s got puppies.”
It also has a deal: On the Popeyes app and site from now until game day, customers who spend at least $20 will earn 400 bonus points. Those points are then redeemable for either free fries or a free pie on their next order.
Today Collin is a freshman at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, where he plays on the football team. But he’s already a success: He has a sponsorship from Popeyes that will use his likeness in ads.
In a recent profile of Collin by CNN, he revealed that his parents initially weren’t stoked that their son had become an internet meme.
“When it happened, we didn’t want to be in the spotlight. And just having that out there, people were coming to my dad and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve seen your kid on this,’ trying to make a joke of it. My dad didn’t like it for his kids to be joked on,” Collin said. “But now, the fact that I switched it into a blessing, he likes it.”
Super Bowl LVII, which pits the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, takes place on Sunday, February 12 at 6:30pm, which you’ll be able to watch after you see the latest, slightly rescheduled The Last of Us.