By Laura Churchill Duke (’98)

Acadia University has much that recommends it: an outstanding national and international reputation; top-ranked academic offerings; athletic excellence both on and off the field; and now viral web sensation Weh-Ming Cho (’98), ‘Snowblower Guy’.

It’s true. In less than a week, a wildly entertaining and in-your-face snowblower ad written by Cho and posted on Kijiji (http://moncton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-equipment-11HP-29-Snowblower-W0QQAdIdZ332915918) has captured more than 478,000 page views, 50,000-plus people have shared the weblink and catapulted him to celebrity status in cyberspace and mainstream media.

If you were to buy to buy a snowblower, which ad would catch your attention? “Eight HP snowblower, some rust, $900 OBO”?

Or this: “I have a snowblower and I want you to own it. I want you to experience the rush that comes with smashing through a snowdrift and blowing that mother trucker out of the way. This isn’t some entry level snowblower that is just gonna move the snow two feet away. This is an 11 HP Briggs and Stratton machine of snow doom that will cut a 29-inch path of pure ecstasy. And it’s only 4 years old. I dare you to find a harder working 4 year old. My niece is five and she gets tired and cranky after just a few minutes of shovelling. You know how many speeds it has? Six forward and two in reverse. It goes from ‘leisurely’ slow up to ‘light speed’. Seriously, I’ve never gone further than five because it terrifies me. I kid you not, you could probably commute to work with it dragging you.”

“I knew a lot about the base characteristics of the snowblower, but what of its soul?” Cho mused about his comedic approach. “Besides a mistimed sparkplug, what made it tick? I knew that if I could just get under the metallic skin of my snowblower and celebrate its essence in word then perhaps I could find someone that would love and cherish it forever. Also, I'm a kind of funny guy that needed $900.”

 Most popular ever?

Within days of posting it, Cho’s ad went viral, making it one of Kijiji’s most popular ever. His story was picked up by the media, including CBC’s As it Happens and CTV news. It also attracted hundreds of personal e-mails, ranging from "OMG UR SOOOO FUNNNY LOL" to "Well done, sir, a hearty laugh all around." 

Cho says he has had requests to write ads for realtors, car dealers, snowplow companies, and a few lost souls that want him to sell pyramid schemes. “I have also received a few marriage proposals and requests for a date. There was one woman that wanted to watch me use the snowblower on her driveway. I don't know if she was just kinky or needed her driveway cleared,” he says wryly.

Cho graduated with a degree in Theatre Studies and was able to fine tune his funny bone by writing two comedic plays that were produced in Mini-Fest (an annual student-run festival of 6-8 one-act plays). These days he works in the corporate world, where he spends all day playing with spreadsheets and databases. Writing Kijiji ads proves he hasn’t lost his creativity.

As for the blower, it officially sold within 72 hours. “Technically, the snowblower could have sold within the first few hours of posting the ad,” Cho says. “I got an offer, but I thought it was a little low so I wanted to wait and see what would happen.

“By the end of the first day, when I had over 3,000 hits, I knew I was right to wait. Then it really went viral and that slowed down the selling process. Nobody would believe that an ad with 60,000 views was still available. The e-mail with the winning offer came in last Friday (Nov. 25, 2011), and I officially accepted it last Saturday.” There’s currently no information as to whether the new owner has “felt the rush” or not.

To follow Cho’s story and read his other funny thoughts, visit his blog at www.blognostifier.com .