# Heineken: The Boring Phone

> A giveaway flip phone drew over 70,000 applicants, according to Heineken.

- Owner: Heineken, with Bodega and HMD
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2024-04-17
- Peak date: 2024-04-18
- Spread Score: 53 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Scarcity drop, Visible in use, Platform jump, Pairing, Newsjacking

## Summary

Heineken paired giveaway flip phones with ads and a Milan party. Tech press and public forums picked it up. The brand later reported over 70,000 applicants, extended the idea into Boring Mode, and claimed billions of earned-media impressions.

## Timeline

- 2024-04-16 — WIRED / The Verge (Press) — WIRED and The Verge reported the phone announcement before the campaign films and Milan unveiling.
- 2024-04-17 — Heineken (YouTube) — Heineken published its 15-second HD Camera film promoting a phone with fewer features.
- 2024-04-17 — Adweek (Press) — Adweek covered the Heineken and Bodega collaboration as a way to switch off from smartphones.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/heineken-the-boring-phone

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Heineken: The Boring Phone.” Case HIS-00365. Spread Score v1.2: 53/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00365