Netherlands – Heineken has joined forces with creative agency LePub for a new global campaign aimed at encouraging concertgoers to minimise phone use on the dance floor and fully embrace memorable moments.
As part of this campaign, Heineken collaborated with the Silver Live Out Festival in Mexico and the Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands to implement a technology that conveyed hidden messages using infrared lighting.
The hidden messages are invisible to the naked eye but appear when attendees hold up their phones to film the performance, encouraging them to cherish the moment instead of capturing it. Leveraging infrared light, the technology creates an unseen display that is visible only through the phone’s camera, requiring no additional apps or downloads.
Heineken has also made the hidden infrared technology available for artists to download and use at their live shows.
In addition, Heineken has created the ‘Boring Mode’ app to reduce smartphone distractions. This app temporarily blocks other apps, notifications, and even the camera, making their devices less engaging.
Heineken aims to reduce technology distractions so people can enhance their nightlife experiences. With the Boring Mode app, users can simplify their smartphones by pixelating their cameras, blocking apps, and silencing constant notifications, allowing them to focus on enjoying the moment.
Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken, commented, “Today it feels like tech always comes first, leaving the enjoyment of real life in second place. While technology grants us endless conveniences, it also comes at the cost of not being able to stop and embrace what’s happening around us.”
“At Heineken®, we want to foster moments of genuine connection to enable a more rewarding social life. When we launched The Boring Phone earlier this year, demand was huge, but only a limited number were made. So, we hope the launch of The Boring Mode helps even more people take a step back from taking photos for posting on social media and instead look around to enjoy what’s right in front of them. After all, there is more to your social life when there is less on your phone,” Nasser added.
The campaign’s launch aligns with a rising trend among artists and DJs encouraging fans to be more present at concerts and festivals. Increasingly, Gen Z and Millennials are also found to be seeking digital disconnection to fully engage with the experiences happening around them.
Over a third (35%) of Gen Z and Millennial smartphone users in the UK, US, and Netherlands admit to checking their phones too often while socialising, and 60% believe they’d enjoy music events more if they could disconnect. Additionally, 41% find it frustrating to see a sea of phones at concerts, while 55% have prioritised recording videos over being present, even though 13% rarely watch those videos later.
Scottish DJ and producer Barry Can’t Swim said, “I’m all in favour of The Boring Phone and Boring Mode, which Heineken has created. When I heard about the new ‘anti-smart’ phone concept, it was something that struck a chord with me. With live music, of course you are more present and immersed if you are giving it your full attention rather than taking a video on your phone. And without phones, the energy is definitely different—people are more connected on the dancefloor.”
The Boring Mode launches in response to the high demand for The Boring Phone, a limited-edition Y2K-inspired flip phone created by Heineken and Boston streetwear curators, Bodega, which saw over 70,000 requests earlier this year.
Also speaking on the campaign, Bruno Bertelli, global CEO LePub and CCO Publicis Worldwide, shared, “The essence of this tech-driven initiative is to redefine the concert experience, creating spaces with no distractions where people can authentically live the moment and immerse themselves in the magic of live music.”
“By leveraging creativity and innovation, such as Heineken’s collaboration with Silver Live Out and ADE, we transformed phones into tools for deeper connections. Celebrating the power of music, the Boring Mode app aims to bring people together in meaningful ways and give socialising the quality it really deserves,” Bertelli further explained.
