"The Camera for an Analog Life" campaign - to launch Polaroid’s newest camera, Flip - directly tackles digital exhaustion and offers a fresh antidote to digital overload
Polaroid is making a bold statement in a smartphone-saturated world with a disruptive creative designed to make people stop, reflect, and put down their phones.
Combining Polaroid photos, that capture the beauty of real life, with provocative copy lines including, “No one on their deathbed ever said: I wish I’d spent more time on my phone.” and “Real stories. Not stories & reels.”, Polaroid reminds us of the importance of connection and living in the moment.
We are analog creatures, built to connect through our senses but the more we lose ourselves in digital algorithms, the more we drift away from empathy and real connection. There is something magical in a Polaroid picture. It captures the humanness in all of us, wrinkles and all, and reminds us that the best of life happens in the real, physical world.Patricia Varella, Brand and Creative Director at Polaroid
Polaroid launched the OOH campaign in high-traffic areas like JFK Airport, city centers, busy streets, and next to Apple Stores and Google offices in New York City and London. By deliberately placing billboards and fly posters next to spaces synonymous with tech culture, the brand created a striking juxtaposition, prompting passersby to pause and reconsider their relationship with the digital world.
To bring the campaign to life, Polaroid launched global, phone-free walking tours in Paris and Tokyo, with the final leg set to kick off in London on August 19th. The experience invites people to lock away their phone and spend one hour exploring their cities using the new Polaroid Flip. Each tour ends with the chance to mail one of a print as a postcard, creating a real connection in a digital world.
The 360° campaign includes paid media – search, display and targeted digital ads aimed at Gen Z – and social media and creator campaigns to continue to strengthen the campaign message.
This is just the start of Polaroid’s strategy to encourage people to lean into what real life has to offer in a world both obsessed and exhausted with digital life.
Campaign credits
Concept
Polaroid Creative Studio
Creative Director
Patricia Varella
Brand Strategist
Dovile Banyte
Brand Manager
Robert Schreuders
Copywriter
Fraser Nelson
Rowan Hudson
Katie Clarke
Art Director
Maria Giulia Giorgiani
Mica Moran
Graphic Design
Ryan Esquivel
Marzia Tolomei
DTP
Alvaro Almeida
Head of Production
Lauren Kilby
Producer
Alessia Abbamonte
Alex Cock
Art Buyer
Jessica López
Senior In-house photographer
Harriet Browse
Polaroid pictures
Marina Mónaco
María Moldes
Isadora Kosofsky
Iris Muñoz
Daichi Nagai
The Polaroid Flip is a tech-packed instant camera with a flippable lid for protection, blending 80 years of innovation. Its Hyperfocal 4-Lens System and Sonar Autofocus deliver sharp, focused shots in any light, while the powerful adaptive flash illuminates subjects up to 4.5m away. Scene Analysis helps ensure well-exposed photos with handy alerts for optimal shots every time.
About Polaroid
Polaroid was founded in 1937 by Edwin Land as an icon of innovation and engineering. The company’s launch of the Polaroid Land camera in 1947, which marked the genesis of instant photography, and subsequent introduction of the breakthrough Polaroid SX-70 camera in 1972 and many others, would firmly cement Polaroid’s standing as a technological pioneer and cultural phenomenon during its peak. However, at the turn of the century, the company would be faced with new realities surrounding digital technology’s swift rise and ceased the production of instant film in 2008. But that was short-lived; a dedicated group of instant photography fans would save the last Polaroid factory in the Netherlands under the name ‘The Impossible Project,’ paving way for the eventual rebirth of the original ‘Polaroid’ brand in the years following.
Today, Polaroid is in pursuit of unlocking the beauty in everyday life with instant photography tools that empower creators across the globe to capture meaningful moments. With recent introductions like the world’s smallest instant camera, the Polaroid Go camera, and the world’s first instant camera with built-in manual controls, the Polaroid I-2 camera, the company that we have come to know and love for over 80 years is rooted back in the spirit of analog innovation for the modern age.
Contact details
Related topics
Related news
Introducing the Polaroid Flip
The ultimate point-and-shoot instant camera for an analog life
Introducing Polaroid Now & Now+ Generation 3
Sharper shots, better in bright light
Stories from Polaroid and Magnum Photos Open Call winners
Polaroid and Magnum are proud to reveal the work of 10 emerging artists selected through their joint Open Call