Back Market
Meet R Phone | Let Them Buy New
On September 12, 2023, Apple held their keynote, releasing the brand new iPhone 15 – their most “innovative” phone yet. Except, they didn’t mention that producing this brand new phone contributes to the fastest growing form of waste in the world: e-waste.
Not exactly innovative.
Under the guise of a Big Tech company that may or may not have ties to Cupertino, we helped tease the release of a truly innovative iPhone, one that uses less fossil fuels and costs way less. This innovation is the refurbished iPhone—the iPhone R—and it’s on Back Market.
We contributed to massive OOH, straight out of the Big Tech playbook, and found our way onto a Times Square billboard.
Then, on the day of the Apple keynote, the team revealed that Back Market were the ones behind all these cryptic hype tactics, and showed the world that a less costly, more sustainable phone can never be new. It can only be refurbished.
The full case study:
Let Them Buy New.
Let Them Buy New.
The New One
After decades of brainwashing and slick advertising, we’ve all been conditioned to think that buying the new thing means buying an innovative thing. Completed by the Gus team, Back Market’s first ever global brand campaign called out Big Tech’s obsession with new and introduced refurbished devices as the actually innovative and more sustainable way to purchase technology. We supplemented this work with audio ads.
Voice of Innovation
We concepted, wrote, and helped produce a Spotify ad that plays with the audio medium. Through the voice of an iconic female virtual assistant from the tech company named after a fruit, we tell the story of Big Tech’s voice of innovation realizing that the most innovative thing is actually not to buy new.
Better One
In addition, we created and aided in the production of another Spotify audio ad that uses the same tactics as the hero video spot.
Recognition
Agency: Gus
Creative Intern (CW): Diana Hou
Creative Intern (AD): Annie Blasberg
CD: Graham Douglas, Spencer LaVallee
EP: Jennifer Hart
Creative Ops Lead: Meegan Moore
CW: Nick Garfield
AD: Shelby Bass
Designer: Angelique Francis
