Posted on 12/09/2006 12:12:25 AM PST by MadIvan
The best billboard advertisements are always bold, well executed, and to the point, and this was no different.
Except it wasn't a new perfume or car that was being advertised, but a husband's infidelity and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage.
When a scorned wife discovered her husband was having an affair with her best friend, she decided the £2,500 advert was the perfect way to shame them.
Addressed to her love-cheat husband "Mark", and her best friend "Shelley", the message reads: "You are the most despicable, deceitful people I have ever met.
"I know what you did and I'm disgusted.
"I've changed the locks Mark, burnt your clothes and emptied OUR joint account - to pay for this poster.
"You deserve each other."
Within hours of the billboard appearing in Birmingham city centre yesterday the mother-of-two, who called herself Jane Doe - the American name for missing women - was being inundated with messages of support on her profile on the MySpace.com website.
But last night it emerged "Jane" took out the billboard advert after first contacting Birmingham radio station BRMB - prompting suggestions - denied by the station - that the message was part of a stunt to generate publicity.
The cheated wife, who is aged 37 and from Birmingham, did not respond to emails from the Daily Mail yesterday.
But her message on the website to readers makes her pain all too clear.
The message begins: "If you are reading this, I guess you are wondering what this is all about.
"Is it a joke or is it some kind of cryptic advertisement or something? I'm sad to say it's not.
"It's none of the above. It's just my way of getting my own back at the B*stard who I have devoted most of my adult life to, only to find out he is a piece of lying cheating scum!"
The woman goes on to detail how her husband made her feel like a "little paranoid woman" after she confronted him with her suspicions raised by his "new clothes, new habits, trips away". When Jane confided in her best friend, known only as Michelle - Shelley was the pet name the woman's husband gave her - the mistress offered her words of "advice" and "help".
In words addressed to the cheating pair, Jane continued: "You deserve each other.. and despite the fact you have betrayed me and ripped away everything that is precious to me, I know that I AM THE ONE THAT IS BETTER OFF!!"
The marital strife first came to light in September when Jane emailed Birmingham radio DJ Caroline Martin, who fills the breakfast slot on commercial station BRMB.
Miss Martin read out the email, which detailed Jane's suspicions over her husband's behaviour, on air.
Further emails followed - leaving listeners hooked on Jane's plight - until the scorned wife finally uncovered proof of her husband's infidelity and decided to shame them on the billboard.
Yesterday, Miss Martin said: "Jane noticed her husband had started to wear aftershave and she found a packet of boxer shorts hidden in his wardrobe - he didn't used to wear either.
"There was a number on his mobile phone bill which he had dialled repeatedly, but when she called it from home it always went straight to voicemail.
"When she confronted him about her suspicions he denied it outright, but then when he was out of the room his phone rang and the name 'Shelley' flashed on screen.
"She went back to the phone bill and, as a last resort, punched the number into her own mobile phone. The name "Michelle" flashed up on her screen - that was when she finally had her proof."
The station was responsible for the ill-fated Two Strangers And A Wedding competition earlier this year where two listeners married on the day they met after winning a BRMB-organised competition.
Craig Cooper and Becky Duffy split three months later.
It followed a similar stunt organised by the station in 1999 which also led to the couple splitting within months.
Phil Barton-Ancliffe, the station's marketing controller, said: "This is a genuine listener. She is from Birmingham but does not want to be identified.
"We understand she had already confronted her husband and friend with the evidence of their affair before the billboard went up."
I know this Lady that could skywrite that. shes a stunt pilot
And a very good pilot she is...I have heard of her.
In a way, it reminds me of an episode of "Desperate Housewives" when Susan learns that her father was not some deceased war hero as she was told by her mother but actually ran the local feed store so she visits the store one day and tries to start a relationship with the "dad" she's never met. Well, the father's suspicious wife thought he was cheating with her so, one morning, she splashes Susan's white garage door with bright red point that spells out "W H O R E".
The next morning Susan goes out to pick up the newspaper and neighbors pass by with jaws agape while she waves at them with this big happy grin until she turns around and sees what's painted on her garage.
Turns out the old man was cheating on his wife, just not with Susan, and the wife had leapt to conclusions.
I'm not sure if she needs support from here since it looks like she got her inspiration here to start with.
I knew I had seen this earlier and someone said it was publicity for a TV show she was trying to sell.
http://thatgirlemily.blogspot.com/
Check out her billboard.
Seems to me neither billboard is good, nor productive.
Good point.
LOL!
Yea, this billboard stuff isn't good.
Some folks who've had hard times in their marriage, like myself, would say the alternative is keeping a promise you made in front of God, your family and your community. Marriage is tough work sometimes, but there is no excuse for adultery, only reasons it's slightly less despicable than committing adultery on a hypothetical perfect spouse. I don't mean to diminish the importance of affection and sex, but your post reminds me of these lines from The Last Boy Scout...
[Joe has just found out that Mike was sleeping with his wife]
Mike Mathews: Look Joe, it just happened.
Joe Hallenbeck: Sure, sure, it just happened. Could happen to anybody. It was an accident, right? You tripped, fell on the floor and accidently stuck your d*** into my wife. "Oops, I'm sorry, Mrs. H, I guess this just isn't my week".
And let me tell you this: I hate divorce, but the guy who divorces his sucky wife and marries somebody else (even her best friend) without ever having cheated on her is a freakin' hero compared to a guy who cheats, and that goes for guys married to downright hags just as much as it goes for guys married to someone great.
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