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UH Students’ Epic Prank on a McDonald’s Goes Viral

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Tony Maples Photography

 

“I’m Lovin’ It!” McDonald’s famous slogan couldn’t ring truer after reading about two University of Houston students’ epic prank that has now gone viral.

Friends Jevh and Christian made headlines around the world and even caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres. It all came after the pair succeeded in hanging up a fake poster of themselves in a Pearland, Texas, McDonald’s. Jevy shared this statement on his Twitter page, “I noticed there was a blank wall at McDonald’s so I decided to make this fake poster of me and my friend. It’s now been 51 days since I hung it up.” The two UH students wanted to see more Asian representation in the McDonald’s ads, so they made it happen in what is probably one of the best marketing ploys around!

Video: YouTube/TheEllenShow

In the YouTube clip from The Ellen Show, you can see the excitement the students felt as Ellen invited them on her show to present them with an even bigger surprise for pulling this prank off. “These kids put up a poster of themselves in a McDonald’s,” Ellen shared on her Twitter account, “and nobody noticed for months. But I noticed.”

Even McDonald’s got in on congratulatory responses, tweeting out, “You guys earned this dream. 👍 Looking forward to more work from the best ‘Regional Interior Coordinators’ we’ve ever had!😉”

The two students created a realistic ad that could have fooled even the savviest advertising executives. They went to great lengths, making it as authentic as possible to highlight their faces on the fake ad. Even the plan to deliver, hang, and display the poster was well thought out, as evidenced in a YouTube video they posted on how it all happened.

Ellen went on to share how McDonald’s would be using the talented duo in a special marketing campaign and let them know they would each receive a check worth $25,000. Not bad for two local Texas boys striving to make a difference. As we all say, everything really is bigger in Texas, including the pranks!