Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
Over a legendary country song, Carrie Underwood smashes up her cheating boyfriend's pickup truck, and at first glance, it would appear a similar scenario played out in Boston's Allston neighborhood.
The "cheater" car, a 2016 Subaru Legacy with the word "CHEATER" written across the side of it that's gone viral on social media, is making rounds around town for a second year. It's got caution tape on it, paint smeared on the front, a busted-looking grill and looks like it was a casualty in a romantic relationship gone bad.
But it's all a joke by a Boston University student.
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"I have these wild ideas and I think a lot of them were just, I just want to help people in some way — whether it's just making them smile, or be happy, or just making them laugh," Perry Sullivan said. "That's that's always been a part of me."
Sullivan has loved cars since he was a kid, and he's gotten thousands of followers posting photos he takes of them on Instagram. He first put a "costume" on his Subaru for Halloween while he was taking a gap year in 2020, in hopes of bringing people some distraction to the stressful events of the pandemic.
"I had myself going to Home Depot to buy caution tape, like stickers and a bunch of other materials," Sullivan remembered. "I literally got home and I sat down and started just doing stuff to the car."
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Complete with washable fake blood, he said the car got quite a bit of attention right away.
"I think that people needed that uplifting. So that was the goal, and that was almost the immediate reaction I saw," he said.
So, he kept decorating the car for holidays — even the Super Bowl. The word "cheater" would make its first appearance on the car last Halloween, and has made a return to the sedan after getting widespread reaction, especially on social media.
This year, Sullivan also left a series of parking tickets — which he says are in fact real, but already paid for— stuck to the windshield for added effect. His car also now says, "Joke's on you," and a "X2" was added after "CHEATER".
The 23-year-old Boston University student studies media science, data science and advertising, and is due to graduate in 2024. He likened his car project to an example of guerilla marketing.
"Just seeing, having a vision and seeing it come to life," Sullivan said. "That's kind of where this decoration comes in — I want to have a fun Halloween time. I don't dress up, so I dress my car up instead."
He wants to continue the tradition in some way next year Halloween, and already has plans in the works for his car over the holiday season.
