Two Buttons / Daily Struggle

The Two Buttons meme — also called "Daily Struggle" — is an exploitable single-panel comic created by animator Jake Clark on October 25, 2014. It shows a visibly distressed man sweating while trying to decide between two red buttons, each labeled with a contradicting statement. Originally posted to Tumblr with the buttons reading "BE A DICK" and "DON'T BE A DICK," the comic went mega-viral on Imgur in February 2015 with over 1.27 million views, became one of the most enduring exploitable formats on the internet, and even spawned a "Both Buttons" sequel six years later.

Jake Clark's Tumblr Post: October 25, 2014

The story starts on a Tumblr blog belonging to Jake Clark, an animator with a gift for distilling complex human experiences into cartoonishly simple visual gags. On October 25, 2014, Clark posted a single-panel comic depicting a character — bald, visibly shaken, mopping sweat from his brow — hovering his hand between two large red buttons. One read "BE A DICK." The other: "DON'T BE A DICK."

It's a deceptively simple setup. The joke isn't really about being rude — it's about the universal human experience of knowing the right answer while still somehow struggling with the decision. In the two years following the initial post, it quietly accumulated over 9,700 notes on Tumblr. Not a viral explosion, but a slow burn that suggested the format had legs.

Clark later revealed the character design was a deliberate mashup of two existing internet and gaming references: the Sweating Towel Guy illustration (a stock image of a man wiping sweat that had already become a reaction image) and Hank Nova from TimeSplitters 2, a PlayStation 2 character with a distinctly exaggerated action-hero look. That blend of internet meme DNA and video game nostalgia gave the character an instantly recognizable, almost archetypal quality — the Everyman facing an impossible choice.

The Imgur Explosion: February 2015

The real inflection point came on February 1, 2015, when Imgur user Robban39 uploaded the comic under the title "Daily Struggle." That single upload accumulated over 1,275,000 views — a staggering number for a simple one-panel comic. Within hours, Redditor AcerRubrum cross-posted the Imgur link to r/funny, where it earned 3,738 upvotes (91% approval rating) and 117 comments before being archived.

But the real magic wasn't in the original comic — it was in what people immediately saw: a blank canvas. The two buttons were just text labels. Change them, and you had an instant joke format. Someone quickly posted a GIF version to Imgur showing the character repeatedly mashing the "Be a Dick" button, which added a kinetic, almost confessional energy to the format: We all know which button we'd actually press.

By late February 2015, edited versions were flooding Reddit. A repost of the original to r/funny pulled another 2,000+ upvotes. The format had proven itself — it was endlessly remixable, instantly readable, and it required zero artistic skill to customize. You just needed a text editor and two contradicting ideas.

Why Two Buttons Works: The Psychology of Impossible Choices

Most meme formats succeed because they tap into something real. The Two Buttons meme works because cognitive dissonance isn't a niche experience — it's the human condition. We all hold contradictory beliefs simultaneously. We all face moments where two perfectly reasonable positions are mutually exclusive. The sweating man doesn't just represent indecision; he represents the awareness of that indecision, which is far more relatable and far funnier.

The format also benefits from its visual simplicity. One character, two buttons, two text labels. There's no second panel to set up, no dialogue to write, no background context needed. The entire joke is contained in the juxtaposition of the two labels and the character's visible distress. It's a meme you can make in 30 seconds and understand in 2.

Compare this to multi-panel formats like Expanding Brain or the Drake meme — those require escalation, sequencing, multiple ideas. Two Buttons distills everything into a single moment of paralysis. That compression is what makes it so versatile: political contradictions, relationship dilemmas, pizza-vs-taco debates, programming language wars — if it involves two mutually exclusive options, it fits.

The Political Memeing Era: March–June 2015

It didn't take long for the format to go political — and when it did, it hit hard. On March 29, 2015, a variant titled "Tumblr's dilemma" appeared on r/funny with the buttons labeled "People can be born as the wrong gender" and "Gender is a social construct." It earned 4,400+ upvotes (85% approval) and 775 comments, making it one of the most-discussed memes on the subreddit that week.

By June, the format had been weaponized across the political spectrum. On June 23, Redditor slapkunts posted a version representing the man as a "proud liberal" with buttons reading "Cops are evil and racist" and "You don't need a gun because you have police." Posted to r/Libertarian, it pulled 3,500+ upvotes (80% approval) and 370 comments.

These political versions demonstrated something important about the format: it wasn't just for lighthearted jokes. It could expose genuine logical contradictions in political positions, ideological frameworks, and cultural debates. That gave it a longer shelf life than purely comedic formats — it was useful as both humor and argumentation.

Both Buttons: The 2020 Sequel

Six years after the original, on November 11, 2020, visual artist Petirep posted a new iteration to Twitter with the caption "I made a new iteration of the classic 'sweaty button pressing' meme." This version added a second panel: in panel one, the character slams both buttons simultaneously; in panel two, he flashes a thumbs-up with a satisfied grin.

The "Both Buttons" variant was brilliant because it subverted the original's core tension. Instead of agonizing over a choice, the character simply refuses to choose — and is happier for it. It became its own sub-meme almost immediately. ShaboomBanana posted the first remixed version to Twitter the same day. By December, versions were racking up tens of thousands of upvotes on r/dankmemes, including one by user hardikupreti that earned 24,000+ upvotes and 20 Reddit awards.

The Both Buttons variant resonated because it captured a very specific 2020 mood: exhaustion with binary choices. After years of "pick a side" discourse online, the idea of just... choosing both... and being fine with it? That was its own kind of catharsis.

The Two Buttons Legacy: Still Going Strong

Over a decade after Jake Clark's original Tumblr post, the Two Buttons format remains one of the most-used exploitable meme templates online. It's been adapted into GIF versions, animated edits, 3D renders, and even physical button props for TikTok content. The format's fundamental simplicity — two options, one sweating human — means it never feels dated. New contradictions appear every day, and each one is another Two Buttons meme waiting to happen.

The meme's evolution also tells us something about how internet humor develops. The original was a self-contained joke about moral choices. The exploitable format turned it into a universal template. The political era gave it teeth. The "Both Buttons" variant gave it a sequel. Each phase built on the last, and the format kept absorbing new contexts without losing its core identity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who created the Two Buttons meme?

Animator Jake Clark created the original "Daily Struggle" comic and posted it to his Tumblr blog on October 25, 2014. The character was inspired by the Sweating Towel Guy illustration and Hank Nova from TimeSplitters 2.

When did the Two Buttons meme go viral?

The meme went viral on February 1, 2015 when it hit Imgur with over 1.27 million views, then immediately spread to Reddit's r/funny with 3,738 upvotes and a 91% approval rating.

What's the difference between Two Buttons and Daily Struggle?

They're the same meme. "Daily Struggle" was the title given when it was uploaded to Imgur in February 2015. "Two Buttons" became the more common name as the format spread. Both refer to Jake Clark's original comic of a sweating man choosing between two red buttons.

Can I face-swap into the Two Buttons meme?

Absolutely. MEEMES makes it easy — the character's face is clearly visible and front-facing, making it one of the cleanest templates for face swapping. Become the sweating decision-maker in your own custom version.