India – Flipkart and consumer electronics company Nothing have teamed up with Pepper Creative, a unit of Pepper Content, to launch a campaign promoting mindful tech use while reinforcing Nothing phones’ unique market positioning.
Titled ‘Don’t Buy Me,’ the campaign took an unconventional approach to smartphone marketing, moving away from spec-driven promotion to encourage mindful technology use.
Acknowledging the role of smartphones in daily life, Flipkart and Nothing focused on usage habits rather than screen time. The campaign disrupted real-life moments with reminders to look up, resonating with Gen Z, urban youth, and early adopters who recognize their reliance on devices but struggle to break the habit.
The campaign supports the launch of Nothing’s Phone (3a) Pro on Flipkart, promoting responsible tech use while positioning Nothing phones as a distinct alternative in a crowded market.
“As a platform bringing the best of technology to users, Flipkart was excited to launch a campaign that flipped conventional marketing on its head,” Smrithi Ravichandran, vice president – head of mobiles & travel at Flipkart, said.
“The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro delivers top-tier performance, but it’s not designed to pull you in. This campaign wasn’t just about selling a phone – it was about changing the way we think about them,” Ravichandran added.
Crafted and executed by Pepper Creative, the campaign used guerrilla interventions to mirror real-life phone habits. It included bold print ads, taking over the front pages of Hindustan Times and Mint with striking messaging.
The campaign extended to public spaces, incorporating traffic signal installations with timed countdowns to highlight habitual phone-checking. At Lollapalooza, billboards challenged concertgoers with the message: “If you’ll pay for the ticket but still watch through your phone—Don’t Buy Me.” In-flight announcements reminded passengers, “Your cloud pictures will look the same, but you need to feel this moment—not see it through a screen.”
Sahil Siddiqui, global creative head at Pepper Creative, explained, “Nothing has always positioned itself differently, and Flipkart was eager to push the messaging envelope.”
“Great ideas are counterintuitive. In a market filled with predictable smartphone campaigns, my team (Nikhil and Pratyush) and I wanted to craft something that matched the anti-aesthetic of Nothing phones while still driving results for Flipkart. If this campaign made even a handful of people rethink their screen habits, we’ve already won. If it also makes them buy a Nothing phone, we’ve won twice,” he added.
