UScellular urges people to put down their phones in first campaign from The Martin Agency

UScellular, the country's fourth largest full-service wireless carrier, apparently wants the same thing as every parent at the dinner table: for everyone to put their phones away. The company’s latest spot promotes UScellular’s new feature, called “US mode,” which is a way for UScellular users to limit notifications and other interruptions on their cellular devices. The ad was created by The Martin Agency, UScellular’s new agency of record. “Our phones keep us constantly connected, but what if they had a mode to help us actually connect,” a voiceover asks throughout the ad, which showcases people walking through a forest, dancing and taking part in other daily activities. The campaign includes TV, radio, digital and social media as well as out-of-home, according to UScellular Chief Marketing Officer Eric Jagher. The spot is part of a larger campaign that began rolling out in February with a challenge called “Phones Down For 5.” UScellular tasked people with “taking a phone break for 5 days, 5 hours, or even just 5 minutes, to reset your relationship with technology,” according to its website. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The campaign is The Martin Agency’s first for the brand. “A few months ago, towards the start of the year, we were looking for a new agency,” Jagher said. “And given what Martin stands for—putting companies at the forefront of cultural conversations and helping brands stand against invisibility—it made a lot of sense.” Previously, Droga5 handled USCellular’s brand equity efforts, with Leo Burnett helming transactional marketing and Ketchum overseeing social media. Now as the brand’s AOR, Martin will handle all of those areas. Another IPG agency, McCann, handles Verizon’s business, but Martin Agency Chief Strategy Officer Elizabeth Paul said that didn’t pose an issue for Martin or its parent. UScellular opted against an official review process prior to committing to The Martin Agency. Jagher said his conversations with the agency and its positive reputation made Martin “a very obvious choice.” Although she admitted that she might be biased, Paul said that she thinks more reviews should work this way. “You can tell a lot about an agency by looking at the work they do across a number of categories over a period of time,” Paul said. “I think choosing a partnership based on partnership versus choosing a partnership based on spec work allowed us to build the campaign together, and, I would argue, allowed us to go a lot faster than if there had been three months of a review where the agency’s kind of working in a vacuum,” she said.

UScellular urges people to put down their phones in first campaign from The Martin Agency

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