Two comedians papered New York City subway stations with fake tech advertisements in June 2026, and the videos of their stunt have pulled in more than 7.5 million views across social media. Harris Alterman and Dave Ross are now hosting a Fake Tech Ad Art Show pop-up on August 8 at the W. 4th Street subway station under Greenwich Village to show off the work in person.
Key Takeaways
- Harris Alterman and Dave Ross posted fake tech ads in New York City subway stations in June 2026, and videos of the project drew more than 7.5 million views across social media.
- The pair announced a Fake Tech Ad Art Show pop-up for August 8 at the W. 4th Street subway station under Greenwich Village, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- One parody ad, for a product called Grandfather, referenced Friend, the wearable AI startup that spent more than $1 million on MTA subway ads in September 2025.
- Alterman and Ross built their fake ad copy by filling a Google Doc with tech buzzwords like democratization, agents, and logistics and rearranging them until something felt funny.
- The duo only leave their posters up long enough to photograph and film them before removing them, and said they were confronted by MTA workers at least once during the project.
The project lands at a moment when actual tech companies are spending real money to plaster subway stations with ads that riders already find baffling. What Alterman and Ross have proven, almost by accident, is that the ad copy churned out by the tech industry has become so formulaic that a joke version and the real thing are nearly impossible to tell apart.
Two Comedians Built a Fake Ad Campaign in a Matter of Weeks
Harris Alterman rides the New York City subway constantly, and he kept noticing AI advertisements that left him puzzled and irritated. He reached out to Dave Ross, a fellow comedian who also works as a graphic designer, to see if the feeling was shared. Alterman said the idea started because the AI ads he kept seeing underground were “confusing me, and annoying me,” and he wanted to find out whether other commuters felt the same way.
The two started by texting each other photos of real AI ads they spotted underground, then met at a diner to reverse-engineer the formula. They built a shared Google Doc stuffed with tech buzzwords like democratization, agents, and logistics, then rearranged the phrases until something landed as funny. Ross described the visual template they were mocking as a uniform look across the industry: simple backgrounds floating somewhere between nothingness and reality, always in a “vague purple,” paired with text in a plain sans serif font. The entire campaign, from first brainstorm to finished posters, came together in a matter of weeks.
Fake Ad Copy Leaned Into Nonsense That Sounded Plausible
The mockups leaned into nonsense phrases that sounded plausible enough to pass: “Ziplink is now Froggle,” “We put the Q in QR1777,” “What if Texas was upside-down?” and “you pay us, we pay you.” One poster promoted a company called Wireflow with the same tagline, no contact information, and no explanation of how the business could possibly work. Another advertised “Wake Market,” a fictional platform that would theoretically let gamblers bet on grief when someone dies.
A third parody, for a product called “Grandfather” and billed as “the world’s first wearable AI grandfather,” pointed directly at a real campaign. It nodded to Friend, the wearable AI companion startup whose CEO Avi Schiffmann told press the company spent more than $1 million on MTA subway ads beginning September 25, 2025, a campaign that drew widespread irritation from commuters at the time. That campaign is the clearest evidence the joke is not exaggerated: an actual company spent seven figures on ad copy that riders mocked almost immediately.
Transit Rules and MTA Workers Add Unscripted Tension
Alterman and Ross only hang their posters long enough to shoot photos and video before pulling them down, aware that the transit system’s actual advertising rules and the police department are not part of the bit. Ross said the pair ran into resistance from transit staff at least once, recounting that MTA workers confronted them mid-installation and that the situation only calmed down after they promised to “take them right down.”
That quick-turnaround approach means most riders who saw the posters in person only caught them for a short window, while the millions who engaged with the project did so entirely through video. It also means the stunt exists in a gray zone: convincing enough to read as real signage, but temporary enough to avoid becoming an actual unauthorized ad placement dispute.
Commuters Could Not Tell the Fake Ads From Real Ones
Commenters online kept making the same point: the fake ads were indistinguishable from what already lines subway platforms. One Instagram user wrote that they would not think twice about any of the posters if they encountered them on an actual platform. That reaction is the actual finding buried inside a comedy bit. It suggests the visual and verbal template used by tech advertisers, vague pastel backgrounds, sans serif type, and buzzword-heavy taglines, has become so standardized that meaning has become optional.
Ross has a theory about why the project keeps resonating: the fake ads work because “they could be real.” That reaction points to something bigger than one prank, a subway ad landscape crowded enough with genuinely confusing AI marketing that satire barely has to exaggerate to land.
August 8 Pop-Up Marks the Project’s Only Planned Next Step
Alterman and Ross have no plans to spin any of their fake products, including Wake Market or Wireflow, into real companies, and they don’t expect an advertising agency to come calling either. Ross summed up his expectations plainly: “What’s happening now is kind of best case.” The pair’s stated ambition stops at the August 8 pop-up in Greenwich Village, where fans of the project can see the ad mockups outside a phone screen.
The bigger unresolved question is what happens the next time a startup actually spends real money plastering the subway with ads that read like they were generated rather than written. Two comedians with a Google Doc managed to produce something audiences found just as convincing as a seven-figure campaign, and that gap says more about the state of tech advertising than it does about comedy.
FAQs
Who Created the Fake Subway Tech Ads in New York City?
Comedians Harris Alterman and Dave Ross created the parody ads. Alterman is a comedian who regularly rides the subway, and Ross is also a comedian who works as a graphic designer.
When Did the Fake Ad Project Happen?
The pair put up the fake ads in subway stations in June 2026, and the videos of the project went viral shortly after, eventually surpassing 7.5 million views.
Is There an Event Where People Can See the Fake Ads in Person?
Alterman and Ross are hosting a Fake Tech Ad Art Show on August 8 at the W. 4th Street subway station under Greenwich Village, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Are Alterman and Ross in Trouble With the MTA or Police for the Ads?
The pair said they were yelled at by MTA workers once while putting up posters but were left alone after promising to remove the ads immediately. They only leave posters up long enough to film and photograph them before taking them down.
What Real Company Inspired the Grandfather Parody Ad?
The Grandfather ad, billed as the world’s first wearable AI grandfather, referenced Friend, a real wearable AI companion startup whose CEO said the company spent more than $1 million on MTA subway ads beginning September 25, 2025.
Do Alterman and Ross Plan to Turn Any of the Fake Products Into Real Businesses?
No. The pair has no plans to build companies like Wake Market or Wireflow, and they don’t expect advertising agencies to reach out. Dave Ross said the current attention is essentially the outcome they anticipated.
What Made the Fake Ads so Convincing to Commuters?
The ads mimicked the plain backgrounds, stock imagery, and sans serif fonts common in real tech advertising, paired with vague buzzword-heavy taglines. Several social media commenters said they would not have questioned the posters if they saw them in a real subway station.
