FEATURE
Five people who don't exist — and reality answered back anyway.
Ad characters usually finish their job inside the screen. The five gathered here are the ones who got a response from outside it. A student left messages on voicemail, a scammer stayed on the phone for 40 minutes without hanging up. In the Netherlands, one made it into next year's school curriculum; in Egypt, the government investigated one on suspicion of terrorism. The names of 1,000 people collected by the last one were handed over to Interpol. The order here follows who responded — starting with a student and ending with an international investigative agency.
5 articles
VIRGIN | 2004
In 2004, young Australians fell hard for an "incredibly unappealing, single and desperate" dork. His name was Warren. Speaking straight to camera in dating-video style, he was all confidence and zero charm—and yet somehow, totally unlovable as he was, Warren wormed his way into youth culture and became a legendary character who pushed Virgin Mobile to its highest-ever market ranking.
Virgin Media O2 | 2025
Meet Daisy, a 78-year-old AI grandma built for one job only: keeping scammers on the line as long as possible. She loves knitting, talking about her cat, and never, ever hanging up.
KPN | 2018
What if a boy living in 1945 had filmed vlogs just like kids do today? KPN actually turned that idea into real posts on YouTube and Instagram.
CBC | 2015
A puppet made for an ad got investigated by the state on terrorism charges, and still went on to win the Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes. This actually happened in Egypt.
TERRES DES HOMMES | 2014
A 10-year-old girl identified 1,000 sex offenders in 10 weeks. But she doesn't exist. She's a fully computer-generated virtual girl. This is the story of an ad agency that launched its own criminal investigation.
Ads That Reached Into the Law
Breaking rules, slipping through loopholes, rewriting statutes — eight ads, ordered by how far they reached.
Alone, You Can't Reach It
An ad that isn't finished until one more person shows up.
What Was Already There Became the Medium
From chalk to banknotes: 11 media nobody had to buy
The Product Is Nowhere to Be Seen
How choosing not to show became the boldest statement of all
Putting 'We're Broke' Right at the Center of the Idea
Six ads that turned a shortfall into the raw material itself
Opening Shop Inside the Game
How do you step into a world where someone else is already lost in play?