AT&T: Codes of Culture
Those three digits at the front of your phone number say a lot about you.
Where you’re from, sure, but an area code can also speak to your style, your convictions, and yeah, even the way you dance.
We helped AT&T realize this with Codes of Culture, a nation-wide campaign that empowered people to celebrate and define their area codes.
It started in NY, LA, Chicago, and Atlanta with hyper-local billboards, then expanded to a social activation, a series of digital films, and Code Day events in each city.
Cannes Silver Lion for Cultural Insight
Cannes Silver Lion for Co-creation & User Generated Content
For the first round of out of home, we captured the nuances of each area code by searching through thousands of
local photographers’ and “mayors’” Instagram feeds, licensing them to feature them all over their city.
We commissioned (773) artist Sam Kirk to create a mural in Chicago, featuring the dances from cultures surrounding Kosciuszko Park — Filipino Tinikling, Polish Krakowiak, Puerto Rican Bomba Y Plena, and Breakdancing
We even got to piss other cities off with this obnoxiously large billboard in Times Square.
In each city we started a new holiday for people to rep their code.
212 Day was 2/12
312 Day was 3/12
404 Day was 4/04
And each city got its own short film, telling the story of the underlying spirit their area codes.
As for Neil and I, our baby was the Chicago film. Check out the project page to watch it.