NICHOLAS S. MARTIN
CREATIVE DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN

AT&T

Codes of Culture


The “Codes of Culture” campaign didn’t advertise a single phone. Instead, it celebrated the cultural meaning behind area codes. It let multicultural millennials in New York City, Atlanta and Chicago portray their generation, uncovering the people, places, rituals and language behind their three identifying digits.

AT&T ignited the conversation about codes with hometown heroes introducing the parentheses via social media posts that shared their hometown pride. The follow-up was the meme generator which launched so that everyone could create their own “It’s a ( ) thing” about the code that Codes of Culture represents them. Some of their posts even appeared on the outdoor billboards. This was capped off with immersive Area Code Days in each city.

(212) Day at New York City’s Terminal 5 celebrated the timeless style of Harlem, paying homage to the iconic Dapper Dan. (312) Day was a one night-only street festival at Chicago’s Revel Fulton Market that proved the Second City is second to none. And (404) Day at the Ravine event space affirmed the new American Dream to be found in Atlanta.


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