We’ve all felt it — that tiny, annoying dent on your pinky finger from endlessly scrolling your phone. UScellular has decided to turn that weird little quirk into a full-blown intervention with its newest campaign, “The Pinky Promise.”
Created by The Martin Agency, the campaign centers on a bold, cheeky new product: a knuckle ring that makes it uncomfortable to keep holding your phone. The idea? Disrupt your screen habit just enough to get you to put the phone down and reconnect with you know, actual people.
To lead the charge, UScellular tapped Southern Charm star and self-proclaimed commitment-phobe Shep Rose, who now finds himself in the hilariously ironic role of Pinky Promise Officiant. In a series of social media vignettes, Shep is presiding over digital detox “vows,” helping followers commit to less scrolling and more living. Think wedding officiant meets intervention with a smirk.
Four lucky commenters on Shep’s Instagram collab with UScellular will win a Pinky Promise Ring along with a custom vow video from Shep himself. Ten more rings will be up for grabs through UScellular’s Instagram and TikTok starting July 16. Watch below:
It’s a smart, slightly petty, and brilliantly behavioral take on screen addiction. Instead of preaching about screen time, it weaponizes a slight discomfort—smartphone pinky—to provoke a change. It’s part PSA, part fashion statement, and definitely Gen Z-bait.
“We’re helping people disconnect from their phones so they can reconnect IRL,” the brand says. “It’s about making a real promise to be more present.”
And Shep Rose, of all people, may be the perfect unexpected wingman for the campaign. His history of dodging traditional commitment plays perfectly into the tongue-in-cheek tone of the effort.
The campaign launched on July 15 across Instagram with more social content rolling out this week. Rings are limited. FOMO is not.
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