A series of controversial ads that Metrolinx pulled after public backlash is being lampooned in a convincingly-real parody this week.

With production values that look professional enough to be mistaken for a real ad from the transit agency, the phony commercials have been making their rounds on social media, garnering hundreds of thousands of views after being shared last week.

Their creator, local actor Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, says the sketches are intended to poke fun at the "gaslighting" of the real Metrolinx ads for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT — ads that many have noticed are particularly self-righteous for a Crown agency that has kept riders waiting for the infrastructure for more than a decade.

Each of the spoofs depicts its own interaction between two different citizens: one of whom bemoans the LRT's never-ending construction and long-delayed opening, and one who adopts a holier-than-though attitude and shoots down the complaints with assurances that all of the trouble is well worth it.

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A post shared by Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll (@rodrigofstoll)

"This construction is taking forever, I don't think they're ever going to finish this Eglinton line, I mean, they're useless," one character says in the first of two clips.

"Yeah, I'm sure the construction is really screwing up your really cool life," the other retorts, proceeding to tear his friend down with comments about the screenplay he's never going to finish and the responsibilities he evades.

"What does that have to do with the Eglinton line and the construction?" the first man asks as his friend continues to dig into him. "Why are you saying this?" 

The Metrolinx logo then flashes over the screen.

In another scene, a woman chastises her friend, who says the LRT construction has been "terrible, like, the actual worst."

"All of this is just so much better for the environment but poor thing, you have to wait a few extra years!" she chides.

When the first woman points out that crews actually broke ground on the LRT a staggering 13 years ago, the apparent Metrolinx advocate suddenly slaps her across the face and says "boohoo, you little b*tch" as the transit authority's logo again appears.

Metrolinx skirts questions about Eglinton LRT opening but hints it could be after spring👀 https://t.co/k99mph5iV0 #EglintonLRT #Metrolinx #TTC #EglintonCrosstown #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 8, 2023

"We wanted to take it one step further than what was there in the real ads," Fernandez-Stoll explains, going on to say that there has been a flurry of positive response from frustrated residents since he released them.

Echoing other jabs that people have taken at the provincial and federal governments through the same format lately, the satire here feels clever and niche, hilarious only to actual Toronto residents who have had to deal with the beleaguered line firsthand.

They are also so well-done as to be believable, apparently.

"Some people also think they're real ads," Fernandez-Stoll says. "Which is a bit concerning, but hilarious."

As some have noted in Reddit posts about the clips, "We're not far from these being their actual ads... It's how the delays are dealt with that shows us what they're really about at this garbage agency. The tone in their latest ads is bordering on gaslighting."

Eglinton Crosstown promises low wait times but Toronto could still be waiting a while 😳 https://t.co/GOmgts8HtO #Toronto #EglintonCrosstown #WaitTimes

— blogTO (@blogTO) November 23, 2023

The main campaign that people have been up in arms about is one that truly is in an identical vein as its comedic counterpart, with citizens responding to others' grievances about the line by purporting its greater benefits alongside the tagline "see beyond the construction."

At least these new skits now have residents across the city cracking up as they continue to wait for the long-overdue transit line to open.