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Angelenos are used to driving past billboards advertising everything from Angelyne to thesanctity of celebrity marriage, but an inscrutable new ad campaign has commuters across the city flummoxed. Giant billboards reading "Netflix Is A Joke" have sprung up in L.A. and New York over the last few days, with people flocking to Twitter to speculate about what the signs mean.
Anyone know what's up with these @netflix is a joke ads up in Hell's Kitchen in NYC? pic.twitter.com/nm1k4LWW8S
— The Laugh Button (@thelaughbutton) September 5, 2017
We hoped the "Netflix Is A Joke" signs might be the handiwork of a rival streaming service hoping to tear Netflix down, like the time talent agency WME elegantly owned its competitor CAA by putting up "CAAN'T" attack ads all over town. Sadly, it appears this one is an inside job; the billboards are part of a marketing campaign by Netflix itself, Variety reports. It remains unclear what, exactly, the campaign is advertising, though we would surmise that it might have something to do with Netflix's comedy programming. LAist reached out to Netflix for comment about the ad campaign, but did not immediately hear back.
Who's behind this billboard??? pic.twitter.com/qVZAIAeB4r
— Claudia Eller (@Variety_Claudia) September 5, 2017
Apparently, Netflix couldn't stand to sit idly by and let Hulu get all the guerilla-marketing attention with that real-life Handmaid's Tale stunt. A classic case of streaming-service sibling rivalry; no need to act out for attention, Netflix, we still love you, no matter how many U.S. subscribers you have.