29 years later, on December 21, 2021, this very first SMS (Short Messaging Service) in history was sold by Vodafone as an Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain for a good cause.

The creation of the NFT and the overall media campaign around the project are the result of a collaboration between German, Swiss and Luxembourgish companies including neon marketing technology, n?ted and TIJO Studio.

The sale was conducted in Paris with the help of the first independent auction house in France, Aguttes. Vodafone will donate all proceeds from the auction to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. 

The buyer, a Canadian entrepreneur, is now the owner of this unique NFT, but not only: A screen produced by “Infinite Objects” immortalizes the historical event in telecommunications history by showing the animation of the phone and the code. In addition, a replica of the code (in PDF and TXT form) used to send the original “text message” as well as a certificate of authenticity signed by Vodafone’s Group CEO, Nick Read.

The NFT guarantees ownership of a unique and detailed replica of the original communication protocol that was written to send the first-ever SMS to a mobile phone. 

For this project, Misch Strotz (neon marketing technology) and artist Gil Galvao (TIJO Studio) managed to reproduce and capture this historical moment through the animation of the replica phone and an animation of the code. In addition, they produced various graphics and video teasers for the Vodafone Group.

Torge Schwandt (n?ted) was responsible for the storytelling and press relations of the project: the story was published in media outlets worldwide (CNN, Yahoo News, Tagesschau, Hypebeast, Times of India, and others).

Misch Strotz (neon marketing technology): “From idea to completion, this unique campaign took us only three (intense) weeks. It was both a marathon and a sprint with a global company (Vodafone), a cutting-edge topic (NFTs) and a lot of actors involved in different countries.” 

Torge Schwandt (n?ted): “This project was the perfect conclusion to 2021, the year that NFT and Web3 finally entered the mainstream. It was a truly pan-European project that brought together many agency partners, helping a global leader in the telecom industry to underscore its position as a technology pioneer. The auction made headlines in many news publications around the world. Most importantly, all proceeds from the sale of this NFT will be donated to help people in need.”