Call it a combination of new media and old, old media – Instagram and pay phones. The New York City pay phone collection might be dwindling – when is the last time you or someone you were with had to use a phone booth?- but as part of a contest from new-shop South Rocket Droogs, snapping an Instagram picture of certain pay phones around the city can actually win you prizes. You’d have to use the #SouthRocketDroogs to win one of 10 prizes, all of which you can see on the agency’s Tumblr.
The official title of the contest is “The Payphone Hashtag Project,” simple enough. South Rocket Droogs, led by Roberto Max Salas (no stranger to viral hashtaggery), is looking to make a grungy splash. And, although I’m a fan of artistic allusions and Malcolm McDowell, pay phones might be too specific to get the job done. A recent Pew survey found that 91% of adults in America own a cell phone, which leaves a select few people who might wander toward a pay phone and an even more exclusive group of people who know about this project and wander toward pay phones. But, you can win an ad campaign for your business, so maybe there will be a pay phone rejuvenation. It can happen.