There are all kinds of ads, comments and positioning and some, with a singular and funny tone, are those that Seth Philips, better known as ‘Dude with Sign’, exhibits with cardboard signs with handwritten words. , on the streets of New York.
‘Dude with Sign’ has become an internet phenomenon, because the photos in which he is seen wearing his curious signs, and generally wearing dark glasses (in addition to a mask against covid-19), have become enormously viral on social networks . In Instagram, for example, has 7.4 million followers and in Twitter another 266,000.
Philips posters often feature humorous comments, simple or common sense truths, and sometimes more serious pronouncements. But in general, the messages of ‘Dude with Sign’ are characterized by their casualness, their colloquiality and echoes of popular wisdom peppered with Internet allusions.
There’s a little bit of everything.
Some posts comment on the peculiarities of work and remote work: “We don’t need a meeting to plan the meeting” and “Make Zoom calls normal with the camera off”.
Others show a mischief that combines advice on sexuality and covid-19: “A condom is just a mask for your penis.”
Or they refer to daily life in the midst of the pandemic: “Who is putting cheap tequila in hand sanitizer” or “Your mask should also cover your nose.”
There is no lack of nostalgia for what the covid-19 took away: “I miss the smell of popcorn from cinemas.”
And there are also posters that express humorous messages of common sense or popular wisdom, such as the one that says “You can be famous and not have a brand of tequila” or “Tip the workers who give you service.”
Or those who comment on the small irritations of social networks and digital services: “We don’t need stories in all apps” or “Remember to cancel your free trial before they charge you.”
Other signs use the space of the photo to reinforce the humor of the message, by alluding to the relationship of smell and distance and to exalt a certain deodorant.
Puns are often present: “Literally, stop saying literally.”
And there are also messages without words, but that use the power of Photoshop, such as the sign that expresses recognition of the progressive senator Bernie Sanders with an image of him that became iconic.
Or those who express messages of social denunciation and are part of larger demonstrations: “All lives will not matter until African American lives matter.”
For Seth Philips, ‘Dude with Sign’ or the ‘Sign Guy’, there would be a poster for all occasions.
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