Convergence Conversation

Le BIC® phone for my nostalgia

My school days were not school days without a BIC® pen. The story of the most famous pen in Europe started in 1945 when Marcel Bich and Edward Buffard established BIC®. After a long history of success in stationary, the yellow little man carrying a pen, the company logo, is also on the mobile phones. On the 11^th of July 2008, BIC® and Orange France launched the BIC® Phone, “the simple cell phone that is 100% ready to go”. The picture below shows how the BIC® phone looks like.

                           Source: BIC®

The BIC® phone has the basic functionalities of a mobile phone: voice and text. It includes 60 minutes free, valid for 2 months. It is already charged. So, you just buy it and use it. BIC® and Orange claim that the phone will appeal all the consumers “who like easy-to-use and pay as you go products.” The phone will be available in September in supermarkets and local stores, exactly like the BIC® pen. The suggested retail price is €49 including tax.

As the BIC® pen pretty much ‘underlined’ the life style of my school days; this phone could potentially create a BIC mobile life style. I believe this is the intention behind this operation. A part from speculation, this is just another story on how the mobile phone is becoming an accessory of our life and an object that can express our way of being and beliefs. Consequently, I could buy the Armani phone because it is stylish, the iPhone because I am a techie lover, or the BIC® phone because it reminds me of my school days.