A Cambridge, Massachusetts, city councilor bought 77 billboards to air a "400-year-old grudge" with the city of Boston.
The ads, which air Monday across Boston, are all part of an "elaborate" April Fools' joke, Councilman Burhan Azeem said, and will "boast" that Cambridge is "plotting to annex Boston."
"[It's] a 400-year-old grudge dating back to 1630, when we were originally promised to be the capital and then it was taken from us," said Azeem.
"In 1630, Cambridge was chosen to be capital," the ad reads. "That was until Boston took that from us. It's time to fix that. Let's annex Boston."
The councilor said he even launched annexboston.com to add to the fun.
"It's all in good spirits, tying back to an annual prank I enjoy pulling," Azeem said.
While he said the stunt came with a $5,000 price tag, it serves a deeper purpose.
"It's my way of nudging us to think more about regional collaboration, particularly around the MBTA and how, together, we can achieve more than any of us can alone — something the state seems to glance over," he said.
