Verizon - #BringBackTheBrick

The Situation:

The 5G Moto Mod – the first way to connect to Verizon’s 5G network became available for purchase on April 1st. Auspicious timing.

Strategic Approach

An April Fool’s joke 36 years in the making.

The first mobile call ever placed happened in 1983, on Verizon’s network using a Motorola phone. Conveniently, the 5G Moto Mod is also from Motorola. This juxtaposition of the past and future presented the perfect opportunity to show a more playful side of the brand.

Creative Idea:

We knew what we had to do: bring the Motorola Brick phone back.

We created a social video announcing the Brick’s return and pushed it on Facebook, Instagram Stories, and Twitter. When people clicked through to buy it, we let them in on the joke and offered the 5G Moto mod instead.

Results

It worked! We were able to garner over half a million organic impressions, beating our benchmark by 371%. Engagement rate outperformed by +58%. It was one of our most shared and loved posts ever.

What we didn’t expect was that people would actually want the brick phone. Because of popular demand we sourced functional Brick phones and sent them to customers who wanted them most.

Finally, the original phone was back on the original network. No joke.

Awards

Shorty Awards

• Best Contest or Promotion (Silver)

• Best use of Humor (Finalist)

Digiday Awards

• Best New Product or Launch Campaign (Finalist)

• Most Original Use of Social (Finalist)

New York Festival Advertising Award

• Brave Work/Brave Client (Finalist Award)

• Best Use of Facebook (Shortlist)

Webby Awards

• Best Use of Social Video (Nominee)

• Social Promotions & Contests (Nominee)