Let’s play a word-association game.

BlackBerry. Quick – what comes to mind?

Stressed exec, working 18 hours a day, sitting up in bed, pecking at the keyboard to go long on pork bellies while his wife is propped up beside him, lost in the latest Penny Vincenzi?

Think again.

Olivia’s a funky fashion designer, who jets between Milan, London and New York. And Duncan is a millionaire tycoon and star of BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.

They’re the new face of BlackBerry, in a high-profile campaign called Blackberry People. So you’re not just buying a gizmo, you’re aspiring to a lifestyle. And you’re making a connection with other people.

It’s not about the technology – it’s never about the technology. It’s about what you can do with it, where you can go, and who you can become.

Just like Time Out’s property edition, personalising a message makes it more powerful.

So powerful, in fact, that a friend of mine was convinced he was a BlackBerry person. So he went out and got one. A few days later, I emailed him to ask how his new gadget was shaping up.

Not very well, apparently. He’d just missed a vital meeting.

“Al my appntsmenst were 1 day out,” he jabbed. “Dont knw hw that hapend.”

I think I do. Let’s play the word-association game again.

BlackBerry?

Manual.

• Are you a BlackBerry person? Find out at BlackBerry People: click here.

Related posts:

1. It’s advertising, Jim – but not as we know it
2. Who are you?
3. Know your market
4. Tell it like it is
5. Don’t know what your clients want? Ask them.