Final Fantasy XIV Billboard

About

The Final Fantasy XIV Billboard is a billboard advertisement for a FF14 themed "Summer Bash" party set to take place in July 2022 in Texas at a venue called Rain Nightclub. After being organized in a Discord server, a picture of it was posted to Twitter by a user named DJ Potate who was set to perform at the event. The image macro became an exploitable template that Redditors and other meme creators part of the Final Fantasy fandom re-edited and photoshopped, replacing the billboard's contents. Overall, it inspired a viral discussion regarding its copyright infringement and the absurdity of its existence.

Origin

On July 3rd, 2022, Twitter user DJ_Potate posted a tweet (since-deleted) that included an image of a billboard in Texas that read, "Rain Nightclub presents Summer Bash," and continued to list the nightclub's Discord server, as well as the date that the party would be happening (July 9th, 2022). DJ Potate's name and logo were also visible on the billboard.

Their tweet acted as an announcement for the upcoming "bash." In less than a day, the tweet received over 540 likes, confirmed via a screenshot taken and reuploaded by Twitter^[1] user UninstallAlleli on July 5th, 2022 (shown below, left). UninstallAlleli also provided the original billboard image macro in a reply^[2] posted on July 5th (shown below, right).

According to Twitter^[3] user bogwitchgaymer who joined Rain Nightclub's Discord server post-DJ_Potate's tweet, the "Summer Bash" had been organized a month prior. Additionally, on July 5th, 2022, Twitter^[4] user MassiveMastro posted a different photo of a digital billboard the nightclub had purchased, earning roughly 1,400 likes for the tweet over the course of two days (shown below).

Overall, the nightclub had purchased four billboards throughout metropolitan Texas, accumulating roughly $12,000 in costs.^[11]

Spread

Backlash Over Copyright Infringement

After DJ_Potate's tweet went viral, the Discord server received an influx of new members curious about the billboard's origins. Many people levied criticism and backlash at the server and its moderators for buying the billboards and hosting the party. On July 5th, 2022, Twitter^[5] user dedizenoflight shared a Discord message screenshot that a moderator sent to everyone condoning the "IP" criticism (shown below). Dedizenoflight's tweet received over 110 likes in two days.

Also on July 5th, Twitter^[7] user shadowbingers shared another Discord message that asked people to stop reacting with the "Clown" emote. Shadowbingers' tweet received roughly 22,400 likes in two days (shown below).

On July 5th, 2022, it was shared to the /r/Asmongold^[6] subreddit by Redditor access-r who received over 530 upvotes in two days. Then, on July 6th, Twitch streamer Asmongold reacted to the billboard in an hour-long stream that included a segment where he interviewed and questioned the Discord moderators who created and funded the billboards. Asmongold reuploaded the full stream to YouTube on the same day where over the course of one day, it received roughly 73,000 views. At the 38:09-minute mark, he starts his call with the moderators (shown below). This is when it's revealed that they paid $12,000.

Memes and Re-edits

Going into the days following DJ_Potate's tweet, Redditors and Twitter users started exploiting the billboard image, re-editing it to show different images and memes. For instance, on July 6th, 2022, Redditor Bogusiaty posted a re-edit to /r/ffxiv^[8] that photoshopped the FFXIV reference, "Pray Return to the Waking Sands," onto it, earning roughly 4,700 upvotes in one day (shown below).

On July 5th, 2022, Twitter^[9] user riochyu posted a green-screen template of the billboard, earning over 1,000 likes in two days (shown below, left). Multiple meme creators posted replies to the tweet, using riochyu's template. For instance, on July 6th, 2022, Twitter^[10] user cailleagrim added in a "Sloppeh" meme, earning over 35 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References