To encourage young people to get the Covid vaccine, the Biden administration has recently been inviting various internet celebs and pop stars to the White House: singer Olivia Rodrigo, TikTok star Benny Drama, and, most recently, “Dude With Sign,” a man with 7.5 million Instagram followers who often goes viral for—as his name suggests—holding up a cardboard sign with different things written on it. This may be his most important message so far (despite his apparently shaky grasp of contractions): “Lets Look Out For Each Other And Get Vaccinated.” In a widely circulated photo, the Dude is seen next to President Biden, who is dressed for the occasion in his aviators and tan suit. POTUS has a sign of his own: “This Dude Gets It, Folks.”
The Dude With Sign Instagram account is the brainchild of Seth Phillips (who is the sign guy) and Elliot Tebele, the founder of Jerry Media. They started the page in late 2019 after their “Seinfeld is way better than friends” sign—which they photographed in front of a Friends billboard—went viral on Tebele’s Instagram account. Phillips has since been bringing attention to his everyday thoughts and annoyances, displaying signs like “Reminder to cancel your free trial before they charge you” and “Not everyone needs a podcast.”
Dude With Sign’s vaccination message already seems to be connecting. In less than three hours, the White House photo racked up more than one million likes.
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Here’s a look back at the other Gen-Z targeted vaccine visits:
@bennydrama7 Kooper the (White House) intern wants SHOTS👏 IN 👏 ARMS 👏 Head to vaccines.gov for more information! WE DID IT, JOE! #vaccinated #vaccinatedfor
Anne Tate, originally from Annapolis, MD, joined Washingtonian in July 2021. She is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied journalism and psychology.
