‘Lying Husband’ Billboard a Spurned Wife or Stunt?

Mar 22, 2013 2:57pm

When a bright-red billboard accusing a man named Michael of being a “lying husband” went up in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, traffic stopped.

“Michael – GPS tracker – $250, Nikon camera with zoom lens – $1,600, catching my LYING HUSBAND and buying this billboard with our investment account — Priceless. Tell Jessica you’re moving in!,” the billboard, signed “Jennifer,” read, copying the “Priceless” ads from MasterCard.

A day later, the ad was gone, replaced by another ad from “Jennifer” with a message to “Jessica” to, “Meet me at Yodaddy’s at 7:00 p.m. for some wine therapy.”

Click HERE to watch a live feed of the billboard.

“Yodaddy’s” would be Yo Daddy Dessert Bar, a newly opened gourmet yogurt shop located a few hundred feet away from the billboard, and owned by the same man who owns the billboard.

The billboard’s message went viral but the owner’s close connection led many to question whether “Jennifer” was really a scorned wife, or just a savvy advertising ploy.

READ MORE: Husband Surprises Wife With Billboard to Find Her a Job

“I can’t confirm that,” Marty Kotis, the president and CEO of Kotis Properties, which owns Yo Daddy and OutdoorSignage.com, which manages the billboard, told ABCNews.com today, when asked whether his company is behind the billboard’s message.

“I just can’t comment on that right now,” he said, declining to confirm whether a “Jennifer” exists and, if so, whether she paid the roughly $2,500 per month advertisers are charged for that particular billboard space.

Kotis did confirm that he paid for an off-duty police officer to be present at the restaurant from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, in case a crowd came to watch a potential showdown, or therapy session, between “Jessica” and “Jennifer.”

Kotis says there was no drama, nor a noticeable increase in traffic to Yo Daddy, but he is pleased by the reaction the billboard has received.  After nearly 30 years in the commercial, real estate development and investment business, this billboard is the company’s first venture into outdoor advertising.

RELATED: Billboard Marriage Proposal Wins a ‘Yes’ From New York Woman

“In the past, in the billboard industry, they’re putting up ads just trying to convince someone to buy something instead of ads with humor,” he said.  “When you think about a billboard, it should be more like a Facebook post that starts a conversation and gets people to share it.”

The billboard, which today features a message from Michael that reads, “I should have bought you flowers,” has definitely generated a conversation online.

“Well played,” one Facebook user wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page, with another adding, “I am a marketing director elsewhere and I thought it was genius! Plus, I didn’t even know about Yo Daddy until I saw it on the billboard. Now I can’t wait to try it out!”

“What a terrible marketing ploy with the Cheating spouse sign … I can tell you who will never eat at “YO Daddy’s” and thats THIS GUY!!!,” a Facebook user of the opposite mind wrote.

Kotis says he’s pleased that people now at least know what Yo Daddy is, but he’s even more pleased by the fact that people will now keep looking at his company’s billboard, which is, of course, available for rent.

READ MORE: Ga. Family Uses Billboards to Find Kidney Donor

“We have been flooded with advertising requests since [Wednesday],” he said.  “A lot of people are looking at that sign.  I think once people start looking up and seeing an interesting billboard, they train their eye on it pretty often, as long as you keep it interesting.”

Through it all, Kotis remained coy about the intent of the current ad on his firm’s billboard, and about what will happen next.

“It’s sort of organic now, so we’re waiting to see what happens,” he said.  “I think today’s post is interesting and we’ll be curious to see what happens next.”

SHOWS:

User Comments

Attract highly targeted, interested customers, provide solid value through content, then refer them to your affiliated merchantsDRIVING TRAFFICHaving lot’s of traffic to your website is a big challenge But it is essential to be successful Or at least to make a reasonable amount of moneyYou have to make your site “search engine friendly” Go the extra mile Give your target clients more than what they expect Someone may have gotten you to provide them with the standard business card printing But why not give something extra make them color business cards instead Providing your clients and prospects with valuable tools and additional treats to succeed in their own business is one cool and effective way to get them to engage in business with you.
A few Bags of vegetables and a bag of dried beans and pulses – barley, dried peas, lentils provide all and body and additional nutrition to those vitamins & nutrients already present in the fresh vegetables, providing a healthy and filling meal for all the family You can freeze what you don’t use in plastic bags and this provides additional meals at a later date We will give you all the recipes you will need for all types of nutritious, healthy soups using vegetables and pulses – without the additives and E numbers to provide the taste and flavour that have been lost during processing Budget cooking is not difficult It just needs a bit of thought and forward planning However, even though the willingness is there, it does not guarantee a closed deal at the end of a day or week With he current decline in economy, people have it hard selling their property in the market And ever if they find potential buyers, these buyers would not likely as to jump to the first deal they find Most will just shop around and decide at a later time And this is something that you, as a homeowner pressed for time, can afford.

Posted by: soggeorne | March 22, 2013, 4:45 pm 4:45 pm

He stays down, and I leave the bar Sounds like a great kick to end a fight doesnt itWell, it was and it wasnt Yes, the one kick I threw did end the fight, but not like I had anticipated You see my kick did not strike Mr Wannabe in the head as I had planned; it struck him on the outside of his arm just above the elbow Our world is built on selling People are constantly trying to sell something new However, they either move up in the sales industry or stand still This includes anyone It doesn’t matter if you are trying to be a good neighbor or trying to sell a company.
Actually, I`m only just now starting to learn HTML so that I can publish my ezine without having to rely way too much on my programmer, who by the way, is the greatest teacher on earth There`s a page here full of “jargon” and links to more info, I find it pretty useful: , that`s a real hard one I think I`d say chatrooms personally Without my programmer, and my other friends that I`ve met in chatrooms, I wouldn`t be where I am today So I`d say THE most important thing when it comes to marketing is your contacts The treatment consists of corrective trimming and shoeing, pain relieving and inflammation decreasing drugs, and carefully controlled exerciseInterestingly, treatment for navicular syndrome may be quite different from veterinarian to the next They will not necessarily prescribe the same treatment Exercise is one of the most important parts of the treatment because it increases blood flow to the horses foot But remember that the exercise has to be carefully done.

Posted by: erunnilia | March 22, 2013, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm

With the aim of performing this drill, the players must be told to run around in different directions in the playing field This will keep the players moving back and forth from one point to the other point They must carry on with this for at lest 5 to 10 minutesWhile they are doing it, they should also try a lot of variations such as taking unexpected turns, performing unexpected tricks, or even playing with the ball Kids have a tendency to focus too much on the ball We so frequently wait around for heart problems and high blood pressure before we take action to improve our overall health It is never too late to begin focusing on your overall health and it’s a good starting point get in touch with one of the several personal trainers NYC for a personalized fitness program exclusively for youIt always seems strange to me that we apparently live a world and a society that is more health-conscious than in the past, but there are plenty of us that do not look after our bodies We now have become so elegant in justifying our delay.
Often you will find ebooks and downloadable software has the highest rates as there is no physical product to make or ship There’s still nothing new under the sun, and that applies to get rich quick schemes There just is no such thingWith a patient, steady approach to e-commerce, however, and reasonable goals, you can assuredly create a real online home business career that will work to bring in a living income for the rest of your life The key to success, as with everything, is remaining grounded and making rational decisions all along the path of your work at home journeyThe biggest step you will take on that journey is deciding on a home marketing program that’s right for you teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” It’s a beautiful sentiment And everyone you see should want to learn how to fish, but what do they really want A free fish Ads that promise to teach you how to fish are harder to make work than ads that promise lots of fish.

Posted by: Gusebrairee | March 22, 2013, 6:54 pm 6:54 pm

Leave a Reply

Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.