Friends, you hate to see it.
A billboard mocking Queensland billionaire, wannabe politician, and election-influencing mining magnate Clive Palmer has gone viral. The only problem: it ain’t real.
The ad originated on Twitter, where graphic designer Adrian Elton posted the image – openly saying it was fake.
Something I just threw together. Namely the ad that Ikea should’ve been running nationally today 😛 #auspol #clivepalmer #election2019 #uap #ikea #spoof pic.twitter.com/jZBH44t2Rh
— Adrian Elton (@TheSurrealMcCoy) May 20, 2019
Of course, that didn’t stop people jumping on board.
Media personalities fell for the gag, and even Pauline Hanson’s official page shared the image. Across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Linkedin the pic has racked up thousands of shares.
There was also a fair amount of boomer fist-shaking as the property owners of Australia got ready to turn up the heat on IKEA for appearing to get too involved in politics.
Elton told B&T the ad “went ballistic”.
“I’ve done things which have gone ‘viral’ before – but this is like the ‘Full Monty’ viral. People seeing it in their feeds from multiple unrelated sources.”
At the end of the day, the ad is funny – but it’s also a huge win for IKEA’s marketing department, who have probably never had an easier case of exposure in their lives.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has contacted Elton and IKEA for further comment.
