Reddit Stonks: Netizens Troll Securities Industry With Brutal Billboards, Airplane Banners
As we enter the second week of the GameStonks controversy, in which a group of financially-savvy Redditors banded together to boost several struggling stocks, namely GameStop and meme-y cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, it seems these novice investors have ascended beyond singlehandedly controlling the market. Their latest tactic in wreaking sweet, sweet havoc upon America's financial institutions? Using their riches to spectacularly dunk on Wall Street bros and investing firms.
On Friday, Kaspar Povilanskas, a self-identified "viral trend starter"-- whatever the hell that means -- and the founder of Nowadays Media, according to his LinkedIn page, took to Twitter to share his diabolical plan to publicly shame the disgraced investing company. "It's happening," Povilanskas wrote last week. "At 3-4:30pm PST a plane will be flying a banner over San Francisco that says 'SUCK MY NUTS ROBINHOOD' and I slid the pilot some extra $$ to circle right above RobinHood's HQ for a while. Go take some photos, I don't even live there." Posted alongside a drawing of the plane's flight path, the post quickly went viral, garnering more than 56,000 likes, a testament to both the plan's glorious absurdity and the sheer magnitude of the internet's collective Robinhood hatred. Once again, you know you royally beefed it when AOC, Zodiac Killer Ted Cruz, and Davey Daytrader can all see eye-to-eye on just how much you suck after halting trading on several stocks.
As promised, the plane flew across northern California, bearing its snarky message. After all, nothing says "SUCK MY NUTS ROBINHOOD!" quite like a flying banner over San Francisco, including the trading company's Menlo Park HQ, that reads SUCK MY NUTS ROBINHOOD!"
However, Povilanskas wasn't the only one making grand gestures in brutally roasting the securities industry and its supporters last Friday. The same day the plane paraded its snarky Robinhood jab above the Bay area, a Redditor commissioned a Times Square billboard, that read "$GME go BRRR," commemorating the internet-coordinated GameStop squeeze, according to NBC News tech reporter Scott Budman. "'BRR' is the sound made when money is printed out," the journalist pointed out in his Twitter post immortalizing the sign, which glowed amid the NYC landmark's iconic ads for approximately an hour before going viral on TikTok.
Although it may seem as if this prime ad space would cost thousands, Matei Psatta, the billboard's creator, said the ad only cost $18 dollars, as he bought it from his own company. "Did it purely to support the movement and make some people smile," Psatta explained to the New York Post on Saturday. "I'm considering running another but want to see how the sentiment is on Monday."
And it's not just major metropolitan areas facing public announcements of Reddit's stock market success. Another billboard has appeared on the side of an Oklahoma highway last week, reading "We're Not Leaving! $GME" above a series of emojis. "If someone can rent out a billboard for GME you can hold your shares!!!" wrote Reddit user u/cookiesfoo, who reposted the image onto r/WallStreetBets, the forum that launched the squeeze.
Although GameStop's stock price has decreased since its peak at approximately $350 last week, it still stands at $221.21 as of writing, which is significantly higher than its $18.84 price on December 31, 2020, according to Google Finance. So folks, if your extra cash from buying those shares of GameStop, AMC or now apparently silver are burning a hole in your pocket, remember, billboards are pretty cheap. StonkGate -- the gift that keeps on giving.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
