'Rogue’ billboard has gone viral for the wrong reasons

"Someone is going to get fired." Or are they?

A viral billboard has been causing a stir online after it was spotted and shared across a number of social media platforms.

But the ‘fast food’ ad that at first glance looks very familiar, is not all that it seems, with one missing letter causing a mix of both hilarity and queasiness.

The large font adjacent to the photo of the double burger reads: ‘100 percent Anus Beef’ and as it was spotted on billboards around Australia, hastily snapped photos were shared among friends and strangers as people tried to work out what on earth was happening with this rogue advertisement.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Image: Facebook @meanwhileinaustralia

RELATED: Gastro surges through Aussie families

"Someone is going to lose their job"

On the Meanwhile in Australia Facebook page which has over 1.8 million followers, a photo was posted by someone who spotted it in Melbourne with the caption, “Suddenly I’m not hungry for that hangover feed anymore.”

With thousands of likes and comments, the image sure made an impact with plenty sharing photos of where they spotted the same beefy advertisement.

“Someone is going to lose their job,” wrote one woman who felt the typo must have been an accident.

Another added: “Someone forgot spell check!”

And a third agreeing: “Oh my gosh. How did that get through so many people without being noticed?!”

But while many people thought the ad was a funny mistake, eagle eyed observers noticed the small print and how the cheeky ad was actually part of a clever marketing campaign by The Gut Foundation to start a conversation around bowel cancer and gut health.

And it has certainly got people talking!

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

RELATED: Paediatric nurse reveals the biggest winter hazards for kids

"Breakfarts of champions"

As part of the campaign there are other billboards featuring foods and typos including baked beans and the headline "breakfarts of champions", and a bowl of acai with the words "acai bowel".

All have been underlined with the squiggly red line to signify and highlight the purposefully misspelled words.

Talking to SBS News, Roy Wakelin-King, CEO of The Gut Foundation, was very pleased with how much traction the cheeky billboards were getting. The company have tracked the social shares which has equated to thousands of interactions around gut health and bowel cancer. 

"That's 60,000 conversations which are happening over the course of the last 24-48 hours that wouldn't have been happening otherwise. And that's really important to us."

"Our mission is to improve the digestive health of all Australians, and that starts with a conversation, it starts with understanding."

Wakelin-King said that there is still a “certain stigma” for people to talk about gut health and that this lack of awareness has led to low participation in important programs like the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

RELATED: Viral ‘Save the Day’ trend is life-changing

"Nothing like a good piece of rump"

Hopefully the thoughtful discussions around the campaign will change that, as well as giving plenty of people a good laugh on their daily commute and online.

“Nothing like a good piece of rump,” commented one jocular Facebooker.

“Give it a 'crack',” added another.

Originally published as 'Rogue’ billboard has gone viral for the wrong reasons