ZAK is giving the gift of disconnection this Christmas

Independent creative agency ZAK launched its Christmas campaign. The under 30s audience specialists have been inspired by their latest White Paper, ‘Decoding Youth Identity in the Social Age’, which identified that 16-24 year old social media users are beta testing their identities, iterating their way through life in a quest for the dopamine hit they experience through positive social feedback.

With 41% saying they feel judged on social media, the dopamine rollercoaster is having a neurological and psychological impact on this age group and ZAK (if only for Xmas) want to highlight the highly addictive nature of social connectivity and its effects on human development.

The campaign launches with a retro take on a US 80s infomercial with scientist Dr. Arthur Fischel from Dopamina Labs. Dr. Arthur (Artie for short), is a thoroughly unconvincing scientist who has pioneered the use of Dopamine patches and is here to convince us that the separation anxiety we experience when we are expected to put our phones down and engage with family and friends over the festive period is real but, fortunately with his help, manageable.  

The patches help stabilise chemical cravings for our phones, simply apply a ‘Dopamine Patch’ (every 8 hours) and if that’s not enough, there is a three-step plan with Dopamina Labs which will help us deal with the symptoms that may persist:

1. Phantom Vibrations: Use the Vibro Buddy 3000, set to buzz every three minutes to pat   yourself down with a renewed sense of aimless purpose. 
2. Restless Finger Syndrome (RFS): Use restrictive gloves to control restless fingers.
3. Avoidance Strategies, avoiding those awkward conversations with Uncle Roger: Wear ideological caps with slogans such as ‘Bring on Brexit’ and ‘Trump for 2020’ to turn away any approaching would-be conversationalists.

The video and patches all point you to www.dopaminalabs.com where ZAK reveals itself as the creator – but using some innovative code, the reveal is only visible once you switch your internet off, again helping you get in the zone for the Christmas disconnection. 

Matthew Bennett, Chief Creative Officer/Founder at ZAK, said: “We specialise in creating big ideas for our clients that engage the under 30s and this year we’re highlighting the withdrawal symptoms we all experience when our constant connection to social media is compromised by being forced to engage with the family unit at this time of family and friends. It’s all done in jest but actually poses the question of how healthy our social media addiction is and more importantly draws attention to the effect social media is having on identity forming at a neurologically sensitive period of late adolescence (or to use the industry hype term, Gen Z).”

Source: ZAK

  Agency, Campaign, Christmas, Disconnection, Dopamina Labs, Dopamine Patch, Gift, Marketing, PR, Social Media, ZAK