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Adweek: Meet the Twisted, Brilliant Copywriter Behind Twitter’s Nihilist Arby’s
Lawrence Arm and Twitter troll Brendan Kelly revealed as mastermind behind sensational parody Twitter account.
Better known as the bassist and singer for foundational Chicago punk band The Lawrence Arms, Brendan Kelly has remained something of a local celebrity. Recently, his renown far surpassed the confines of dingy rock clubs and record stores across the country with the grand reveal of an unexpected side project: Waxing philosophical on the death, decay and aimlessness as Nihilistic Arby’s.
An outlet for Kelly’s witticisms and absurdist humor, the parody account has garnered an enormous following since its creation eight months ago. Channeling his own experiences as an advertising copywriter and ruminating over the tedium and toil that surely plague the social media wiz of Arby’s, Kelly was struck with a diabolical idea.
“Kelly said he began thinking about how funny it would be if a social media manager for a restaurant chain ‘just lost it, after sending out yet another tweet about something [inane] like a new dipping sauce,’” according to Adweek.
And so began Kelly’s time moonlighting as a morose brand rep careening down the brink of insanity toward a black hole of existential dread and decay. Never has the impending doom of humanity been so hysterical. See evidence below.
Arbys for lunch
Arbys for dinner
In this fetid hellscape
There are no winners
Arbys tomorrow
Arbys today
Nothing's certain
But death & decay
— Nihilist Arby's (@nihilist_arbys) August 15, 2015Arbys puts its pants on in the morning just like you: paralyzed by creeping dread as we speed ever closer towards inevitable doom. Eat arbys
— Nihilist Arby's (@nihilist_arbys) August 11, 2015Honey, I need to eat
Well, there's food at this rest area
...
Oh, it's just arbys
Whatever. I'm starving
Arbys: whatever. You're starving
— Nihilist Arby's (@nihilist_arbys) August 4, 2015Click here to read the original story. Or don’t. We’re all just insignificant iotas in a vacuum of space and time anyways.
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About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
