@DudeWithSign Collaboration

FROM A BOARD GAME TO CARDBOARD FAME.

In October 2019, Seth Phillips and Elliot Tebele, founder of Jerry Media, staged a simple protest in New York City by holding a cardboard sign that read "Stop replying-all to company-wide emails." The photo was initially intended for Tebele's Instagram account, however, after sharing a second protest in front of a Friends billboard declaring that "Seinfeld is way better than Friends," the two realized they needed a dedicated account for their protests. Thus, @dudewithsign was born, which has since grown to over 8 million followers.
Initially, reactions to the protests were simple with just a few laughs here and there. However, as the account grew, so did Phillips's real-life popularity. Within minutes of his arrival, passers-by began crowding the street, hoping to have a photo taken with him.
Phillips’s first role was as a content creator for the board game What Do You Meme and for the Instagram meme account @fuckjerry. With that writing experience under his belt, he knows @dudewithsign's success lies in its relatability and relevant humor. Phillips says he and his team get the protest ideas from their work environment and conversations with coworkers. The goal is to come up with witty concepts that people are familiar with, but don't usually talk about. They aim to appeal to every type of person, which is one of the reasons why the account has gained so many followers.
Even though Phillips grew up in a small town in Texas with a population of just 650 people, his career continues to blow up. He once appeared on The Ellen Show, using his cardboard messages to help Ellen DeGeneres with her opening monologue, and was recently interviewed on The Drew Barrymore Show. Will his persona continue to rise high above the heads of others? All signs say, “Yes”.