The Real Story of a Pub's Brilliantly Lazy Ad That Became a Viral Hit

Dave Blackhurst gets right to it

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A warning to clients: Be careful what you text to a designer. It might end up in one of his designs. Or the texts might end up being the entire ad.

That was the general sentiment after a British ad—created by designer Dave Blackhurst for the Friars pub in Bridgnorth—went viral this week and was celebrated as a genius bit of brilliantly lazy design.

But it’s not the whole story.

This much is true: Blackhurst, a copy editor and proofreader, was asked by a friend, Tom Hughes, who owns the Friars, to design a poster advertising the nightly entertainment there.

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