Copywriter pulls a Gene Parmesan
Recruiters using LinkedIn have made a huge mistake: they’ve approached fake Arrested Development character accounts for jobs. The cult TV series returned for a new season on Netflix a week ago, but the faux LinkedIn profiles weren’t created on Netflix’s behalf.
The fake LinkedIn accounts were concocted by Justin Racz, a freelance copywriter looking to boost his visibility for potential clients on the social media site. Racz crafted LinkedIn accounts for fan-favorite characters from Arrested Development such as George Bluth Sr., Tobias Fünke and G.O.B. Bluth.
Social media parody accounts aren’t a new fad by any means, with scores of fake celebrity accounts spread across the Twitter-sphere. What makes Justin Racz’s LinkedIn story stand out is that it was written to stand out.
The arrival of the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix came with a lot of buzz and discussion among fans. Racz decided to piggyback off of that discussion and showcase his writing in the process.
In an interview with ABC News, Racz detailed his devotion to the show, saying: “I thought it would be a great way to ride kind of the coattails of the buzz for it. I’m not kidding when I tell you this it is my lullaby. I have heard … each show multiple times … so like a child listening to a lullaby who knows the story and can just fall asleep, that’s what I would do. I would put it in my computer and close my eyes and fall asleep. It was my lullaby.”
Like many Arrested Development fans, Racz’s love of the show made him familiar with the distinct voices of its characters, which he injected into their LinkedIn profiles. Since he created the accounts, recruiters have reached out to them and Racz has responded under the guise of each character. Additional links in the Bluth profiles redirect viewers to Racz’s own LinkedIn account.
38-year-old Racz has been in copywriting for 15 years, but was worried that he was becoming “old school,” which lead the LinkedIn idea. Old school or not, the avant-garde portfolio boast seems to have paid off for the copywriter.
“Recruiters, creative recruiters, have emailed and thought I’d be great for different clients, that my humor would be spot on for certain brands, so I’m speaking to a few of them,” Racz told ABC News.
Initially Racz simply wanted to create celebrity profiles before his friend suggested the Arrested Development LinkedIn profiles. Thank God he settled on the Bluth family, because the world really doesn’t need another fake Justin Bieber account.
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