BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Two South Florida brothers didn't send their father a birthday card this year. Instead, they bought a billboard and now he's getting phone calls from all over the world.
"Wish My Dad Happy Birthday - Love, Your Sons," the large billboard outside Atlantic City, New Jersey, reads with their dad's phone number attached.
He's getting so many calls that even celebrities like Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa couldn't get through (his voice mail box was full).
"I called my brother and I asked him, 'Why don't we put a billboard right outside of Atlantic City saying, 'Wish my dad a happy birthday.' And he loved it. He started dying laughing," Chris Ferry told ABC affiliate WPBF. "So that's what we did."
The billboard went up last Thursday and their father -- also named Chris Ferry --- has since received thousands of calls and texts for his 62nd birthday.
"I've received texts from all over the world, as far as the Philippines, Kenya, Luxembourg," the older Ferry said from his home in New Jersey. "It's been crazy."
So crazy that Ferry had to get a new phone number. The old number goes to recorded message that says, "Thank you for calling to wish me a happy birthday. I really very much appreciate it."
The brothers paid $2,000 for the billboard, but they never expected a worldwide reaction.
"We thought it was going to be a local joke, people would call," the younger Ferry said. "I guess when we put it on social media, that's when it really started going crazy."