Stop Phubbing

Macquarie Dictionary
6th Edition

Launch Campaign

In a digital first world we were asked by Australia’s national dictionary, the Macquarie, to launch their sixth edition.

The idea was to find a global problem so recent, it didn’t yet have a word.

The problem was poor smartphone manners. And the word we created was Phubbing: The act of ignoring the person in front of you in favour of your smartphone.

Campaign Case Study

On the day of launch, with media and public discussion of Phubbing at its peak, we released a branded short film ‘A Word is Born’, about the origin of the word across social media.

Launch Film ‘A Word is Born’

Article illustration showing a hand holding a smartphone surrounded by social media notification icons with heart symbols, against a pink and dotted background.
Woman sitting at a restaurant table with arms crossed, wearing a patterned sweater and hoop earrings.
Couple sitting at a table with the woman looking at her phone while the man appears upset, illustrating the concept of 'phubbing.'
Two people sitting against a wall, looking at their smartphones, with 'THE WEEK' logo and caption 'Phubbing: a marriage-wrecking habit?'
New York Post headline about phubbing in relationships by Asia Grace, dated July 28, 2023.