Anybody who has seen the sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix will recall
that it features the weirdest phone box scenes since Doctor Who first
stepped out of the Tardis. Phonesites account manager Janet Stansfield
certainly remembers them, because she adapted the idea to promote the
film’s launch on Warner Home Video this week. As well as wrapping phone
boxes all the way down Oxford Street, Phonesites has given kiosks in
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester the exterior makeover. And
while just 500 wraps go up this week, a total of 3,000 will be out there
between now and Christmas.
’I’d seen The Matrix at the cinema and realised that the video launch
was likely to have a sizeable media budget behind it. I wanted to
incorporate the phone idea, so I mocked up a visual and made a direct
approach to the client.’
Warner Home Video loved it and with the help of Manning Gottlieb Media,
the campaign was born. ’The great thing about phone boxes is that they
are all in city centres, in close proximity to the point of sale.’
Phonesites has 97,000 sites around the country, providing unrivalled
depth of coverage, says Stansfield. ’It’s outdoor - but not as we know
it.’
