Marketing and copywriting can be a tricky art to master, but sometimes the most effective campaigns are the ones that catch us off guard. There's no formula for creating the best billboard advertising, but somehow PETA's latest ad has created a TikTok storm. By embracing the absurd, the hilarious ad is proof that sometimes you don't need to overthink your copy.
The viral billboard ad (which is affectionately referred to as "Just spay me Denise") imagines a conversation between a dog and her owner. It aims to show that we humans overcomplicate our relationship with our pets, applying inappropriate emotions to their humble doggy existence. Advocating for a no-nonsense spay or neuter approach, the billboard's brilliantly blunt response has inadvertently become the interest new favourite phrase.
@arrrt3mis ♬ Funny - Gold-Tiger
The video was shared on TikTok by user @arrrt3mis, who passionately captioned the clip "WHAT IS THIS WHY IS THIS". The billboard soon went viral, with many users praising its strange deadpan humour. "I'm going to assume a Gen Z is responsible for this," one user commented while another claimed, "I fear 'just spay me Denise' is gonna end up in my vocabulary."
Silliness aside, the ad expertly combines delightfully Gen Z humour with a poignant message: "Your dog is not the problem. You are". When it comes to Gen Z humour in marketing, it's often in the ballpark of painful cringe, but as one user commented, this is indeed an instance of a "Very rare PETA W" (that's a win, for the millennials and beyond).
Oh, and in case you were wondering, there's also a version for the boys. I fear "just neuter me, bro" doesn't have quite the same ring, but it's just as amusing.
For more brilliant billboard examples, check out the ingenious Cheetos billboards that embrace imperfection in the name of snacking. To keep up with the advertising trends, check out why billboard advertising is getting desperate thanks to an oversaturation of the 'more is more' trend.
