Biden invites 'Dude With Sign' to the White House: President recruits influencer to his army of Instagram and TikTok stars trying to persuade Gen Z to get vaccinated
President Joe Biden has added another recruit to his army of influencers the White House is using to boost Gen Z vaccination rates: 'Dude with Sign.'
Seth Phillips, the face of the viral protest Instagram account @DudeWithSign, visited the White House last Friday, where he discussed the COVID-19 vaccine effort with the president and then posed for a picture in the Rose Garden, a White House official told DailyMail.com.
Of course, the picture included signs.
For Phillips it was: 'Let's look out for each other and get vaccinated.'
Biden, sporting aviators and that tan suit, held up one that read: 'This dude gets it, folks.'
President Joe Biden hosted 'Dude With Sign' Seth Phillips at the White House last Friday, DailyMail.com can exclusively report
'The White House approached Seth who was more than willing to help us get the word out about vaccinations in a creative way to their youthful audience,' an official told DailyMail.com.
The account was born after Phillips and Jerry Media founder Elliot Tebele took to the streets of New York with a cardboard sign in October 2019 that read, 'Stop replying-all to company-wide emails,' according to a profile in Forbes.
They shared a second sign posting, 'Seinfeld is way better than Friends' - staging it strategically below a Friends billboards - and the content started to get traction.
From there the @DudeWithSign account was born.
Today it boasts 7.6 million followers.
Seth Phillips partnered with the World Health Organization in March 2020 to dispel misinformation about COVID-19. He held up a number of COVID-related signs
In March 2020, Phillips collaborated with the World Health Organization to dispel misinformation about COVID-19.
He held up signs including 'stop touching your face,' 'wash your damn hands,' and 'clean your damn phone, too.'
Other COVID-related posts included, 'nice weather doesn't mean COVID is over,' 'thank you doctors, nurses and medical staff,' and 'there's no excuse not to wear a mask on Halloween.'
More recently his signs teased people overzealously sharing their vaccine selfies.
'You can get the vaccine without posting it,' one read.
White House officials have argued that to get Gen Z vaccinated they need to meet young people where they are, which is on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
While more than 70 per cent of the adults over 40 have been fully vaccinated, as of Tuesday, just 44.9 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds have been fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, would be doing five Q&A conversations on Instagram and TikTok with millennial mom and Gen Z influencers.
Other COVID-related @DudeWithSign posts included 'There's no excuse to not wear a mask on Halloween' and 'nice weather doesn't mean COVID is over,' and 'thank you doctors, nurses ane medical staff'
'Throughout the month of August, Dr. Fauci will do weekly conversations and questions with notable influencers that aim to reach specific audiences we are looking to boost vaccinations with,' Psaki explained.
Last month, Biden and Fauci appeared alongside songstress Olivia Rodrigo as part of the effort.
Last week, the White House released a video of Benny Drama - a comedian whose Instagram account is 1.4 million strong - posing as Kooper the Gen Z intern.
Kooper, with long, white manicured nails, tries to book a nail appointment for Psaki, and poses for pictures in front of the West Wing toting a white, red and blue dog purse. 'We did it Joe,' he says walking through the hallways of the Eisenhower Executive Officer Building, where Vice President Kamala Harris has her offices.
That video was mocked by some on the political right.
The House Judiciary GOP account shared the video labeling it 'Joe Biden's America.'
Donald Trump Jr. chimed in suggesting watching it was torture.
'Next they're going to waterboard you till you get vaccinated, though there's no way that would be worse than watching this!!!' he tweeted.
