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Medium Meets Message: Droga5 transforms NYC pay phones into virtual time machines

3/28/2013

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Can you imagine picking up a payphone and making a call to someone living 20 years in the past?

Right now in New York City you can do just that, thanks to Recalling 1993, Droga5’s incredible new campaign for the New Museum’s exhibition, “NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash, and More Star”.

Since the exhibition was created to be a snapshot of life in New York City at that time, Droga5 had the brilliant idea of integrating the campaign with the city’s history itself.  The agency transformed over 5,000 pay phones on the streets of Manhattan into audio time capsules.  By dialing the toll free number 1-855-FOR-1993, callers can hear one of over 150 recorded narratives from actual New Yorkers.  The recordings are even geo-located by phone booth, so callers hear what was happening on the exact street they’re ringing in from.

Check it out:

Recalling 1993 from Droga5 NY on Vimeo.

The two things that really take this campaign above and beyond in my opinion are: 1) that they found a way to integrate their advertising into the existing environment, and 2) that they actually become a part of their client’s exhibition. Rather than creating more stuff to take up space in already-packed Manhattan, they decided to extend the exhibition into the streets by repurposing payphones that were already there.  And with all the buzz it’s generated, it looks like everyone in Manhattan is having a blast with it.

Talk about finding the perfect medium for the message.  Droga5 is doing it right.
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    Author 

    Kristina Cobb is a lead Strategist on the AT&T account at Hearts & Science. In her former role as a Media Planner at The Richards Group, she managed media for 5 diverse accounts: AAA, RiceSelect, Business First Bank, LifeScience Logistics, and The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.​ She has a background in creative writing and graphic design, which she applies to passion projects and freelance work. 

    As a UT alum, she still says "Hook 'em Horns" when she notices the longhorn emblem on a passerby's shirt, but she secretly does not care who wins the football games. Although she feels quite silly when writing about herself in the third person, she recognizes that it is sometimes a necessary evil.

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