Have you ever given your parents a great birthday gift only to think, 'how am I going to one up this one next year?' Well, Chris Ferry Jr. just gave his father, Chris Ferry Sr., the birthday present to end all birthday presents.
You see, he put up a billboard with a photo of his father along with his phone number, inviting people to call him to wish him a happy birthday.
'Wish my dad happy birthday' billboard draws thousands of calls - https://t.co/bt2PCF5gQ0 - Image copyright Chris… https://t.co/m4lNi62N9a— Trending Press News (@Trending Press News) 1552433112.0
And people obliged. According to the BBC, Chris Ferry Sr. has received thousands of phone calls from all over the world to help celebrate.
According to a local ABC affiliate, the first text came only minutes after the billboard went up just outside of Atlantic City.
"It said, 'Happy birthday.'
He texted back, asking, 'Who are you?'
'My name is Nick.'
'How do you know it's my birthday coming up?'
'I saw it on a billboard.'"
It soon went viral on social media. Soon after, calls and texts flooded in from places as far away as the Philippines, Kenya, and Luxembourg.
Chris Jr. went on to explain...
"We thought it was going to be a local joke, people would call. I guess when we put it on social media, that's when it really started going crazy."
We even got to hear from the man himself.
Chris Ferry's sons wanted everyone to know about their father's 62nd birthday. So, naturally, they bought a large b… https://t.co/v7FDzDuJaD— CBS 13 News (@CBS 13 News) 1552506318.0
People showered Chris Ferry Sr. with birthday wishes on Twitter.
@BBCWorld @BBCNews Happy birthday— juliarees7 (@juliarees7) 1552409304.0
@BBCWorld This is so sweet. Happy birthday— May Rene Joseph (@May Rene Joseph) 1552408656.0
Though some thought that the attention was perhaps unwanted.
@BBCWorld I bet he also received the single most robo calls ever, and I bet its the gift that keeps on giving sadly...— life_is_met_with_smiles (@life_is_met_with_smiles) 1552407879.0
@BBCWorld Sounds like hell.— Hernán R Dutschmann (@Hernán R Dutschmann) 1552407777.0
Though most loved it.
@nytimes Their impact. https://t.co/SDDag89w1h— Emma Chapple (@Emma Chapple) 1552528011.0
Happy birthday Chris Ferry Sr.! Hopefully the phone calls stop soon.