At Milan Design Week, where the world’s most innovative design is on display, one of the buzzworthy launches could be a throwback phone with basic features from the early 2000s. 

Heineken collaborated with streetwear retailer Bodega to create The Boring Phone, a device purposefully designed with reduced tech capabilities. Produced by Nokia manufacturer Human Mobile Devices (HMD), the phone can only send and receive calls and text messages; users won’t be able to browse the internet or download any apps.

The idea is to encourage people to switch off from their phones and embrace a social life with more authentic, in-person connections. 

“At Heineken, our mission is to help foster real connections, so we have gone back to the basics with The Boring Phone,” Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken, told ADWEEK. “In a world where smartphones are becoming too interesting, it will help people discover that there is more to their social lives when there is less on their phones, reigniting the joy of socializing without distraction from constant buzzing and dings.”

Heineken and Bodega will debut The Boring Phone during a Milan Design Week party on April 18. Treating it more like a coveted fashion or art object, the brands will release a limited run of 5,000 phones and gift them to celebrities, influencers and the general public. 

Inspired by popular “newtro” design (a mix of new and retro trends), The Boring Phone is a reinterpretation of devices from the early 2000s, with transparent casing and holographic stickers. 

Three ads accompanying the launch capture the rewards of switching off from devices. One spot takes place at a concert, where most of the crowd is filming the performance on their phones—missing out on the chance to score a T-shirt from one of the band members. 

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