Nothing has onboarded Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as brand ambassador for its upcoming Phone 2a launch set for March 5 in India. And obviously, someone on social media had to ask, why, to which chief Carl Pei had the perfect— and might we add, honest— answer ready, in no time. Pei, who is widely popular for being somewhat of a marketing genius in tech circles, simply said that Nothing wants to sell more smartphones, that’s why.
But it’s the way he said it that’s really what’s getting social media buzzing. His full response is as follows— “We want to sell more phones bhai.” Bhai or bhaiya, that translates to brother in English, is a word that most Indians can relate to. Almost like second nature.
Day in and day out, they use it in all walks of life to address both known friends and acquaintances as well as strangers they might encounter in this journey called life. And so, if someone responded back saying “Carl Pei knows the pulse of Indians”, it’s hardly a surprise.
There are no two ways that India is a big market for Nothing. A big opportunity. It is one of handful of markets where it’s bringing the Phone 2a, a relatively budget offering, that’s supposed to be the connecting link between the Phone 1 and Phone 2, serving as the new entry-point into the Nothing-verse that’s garnered a lot of attention for its design and software choices— and ambitions to become the next big Apple.
And it’s also making the Phone 2a in India, a task that is easier said than done for a startup with a taste for transparency and eye for detail. The Phone 2a isn’t even launching in the US, at least not in a big way anyway (but through a beta program), and so, needless to say, India will be key to both Phone 2a and Nothing’s success.
Nothing Phone 2a will launch on March 5 at an event titled “fresh eyes.”
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