Circa 2004 -2005 Comments RE: VoIP: The Movie

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2004: Covad claims: "We plan to offer VoIP services in all of our markets by the end of 2004. And sure enough, in 2004 GJP Advertising handled Covad's new marketing campaign for VoIP services. The ads involved a series of movie trailers about "VoIP: The Movie" which were designed to look like trailers from a thriller movie. Unfortunately it wasn't at all clear what they're really advertising (though, the phone does seem to play a central part).
For a number of years this was the website for VoIP: The Movie. When the domain expired the new owner of the site used it for reverse mortgages and retirement information. Again the domain's registration expired and the newest owner had decided to return the site to its original roots, namely about the Covad's marketing campaign for its VoIP services.

Content is from the site's archived pages as well as from other outside press sources including the movie's Facebook page which was created in 2014 along with a new blog website.
The current official website for VoIP movie is found at: https://voipmovie.wordpress.com./ where you can find story boards for the campaign.

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Plot Outline

VoIP is a high-tech innovative psychological thriller set in New York. VoIP weaves four stories of ordinary people linked by corrupt and insidious forces infiltrating ‘Voice-over Internet Protocol’ or VoIP systems.

Art dealer, Greg Skinner, is on a routine assignment in Paris when a nightmare is unleashed. Talking with his girlfriend, Joanne, at their apartment via Skype, he witnesses her abduction by a sickening demonic creature. Frantic, Greg flies back to New York but becomes increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress by two detectives working on his case.

In desperation, he turns to an ex-girlfriend now working as a journalist. With her help, he uncovers something seriously unsettling, but in doing so, inadvertently releases the forces that took Joanne into his own life, causing him to spiral into psychological paranoia.

Besieged by horrific images on his computer and plagued with nightmares, Greg takes desperate measures, and in a dramatic turning point, busts genius hacker, Byron Whitworth, from his mundane jail-time community service job of teaching ‘silver surfers’. Together with Byron’s hacking partner, 'Snake', they begin to unravel the sinister truth behind Joanne’s disappearance.

Intriguing, mind-bending, and ultimately disturbing, VoIP throws in twists you won't see coming and will make you seriously question the veracity of what you see with your own eyes.

Directed By James Smith
Written By James Smith
Screenplay By Caroline Spence
Produced By Caroline Spence

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PRESS 2018 - 2019

 

 

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Had to happen: Jump ahead more than a decade since the marketing ploy VoIP: The Movie. VoIP is serious. The benefits of VoIP over traditional phone systems are extensive. Virtually every business stands to greatly benefit by implementing this sophisticated communications technology. I ran into a strange Google problem while searching for "local VoIP providers" where the results included large number of hard porn video sites. Totally crazy! I recently read about the problems Google can create for people and businesses when their search reveals inappropriate results, and how difficult it is to address this problem since Google is basically unresponsive, meaning there's really no way to remove Google search results. Here's an informative post about this issue - you'll see it can cause devastating harm. It's one thing to have porn sites show up for a search for your type of business, but another if your privacy has been violated.

However when I was researching VoIP service providers I spent a lot of time looking at a half dozen "top" companies. I narrowed down my choices by speaking with other business owners to see who they had gone with and the pros and cons. I ended up using Pan Terra and have been pleased with the results. Sometimes I think the internet provided too many choices, on the other hand it dose allow you to do very deep research. Anyhow VoIP really has come into its own. VoIP: The Movie seems naive in hindsight, from a marketing point of view, but clever from a purely creative point of view.

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PRESS 2004 -2005

You can see an example of the trailer at: www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/51294/voip-movie/covad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More Background On VOIPtheMovie.com

 

VOIPtheMovie.com is one of the more unusual and memorable digital artifacts from the early 2000s—an era when the transition from traditional landline telephony to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was just beginning to reshape global communications. The website presents itself as the promotional hub for a psychological thriller called VoIP: The Movie, with a dramatic plot involving abductions, hackers, and demonic digital forces lurking inside communication networks. In reality, however, the site originates from a bold and unconventional marketing campaign created by Covad Communications Group, a major broadband provider of the time.

This hybrid of entertainment and advertising—sometimes called “advertainment”—was designed to raise awareness about VoIP technology in a way that felt cinematic, mysterious, and engaging to IT decision-makers, IT managers, and enterprise buyers who were beginning to consider VoIP as a replacement for traditional phone systems.

Today, VOIPtheMovie.com remains both a case study in early digital marketing and a preserved piece of internet culture. Understanding the site provides a fascinating look into how companies experimented with novel storytelling formats to promote emerging technologies in the pre-social-media era.

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Background and Creation

VOIPtheMovie.com was created around 2004–2005, during a time when Covad was preparing to expand its VoIP service offerings to business and residential customers. Covad publicly declared its intent to bring VoIP to all its markets by the end of 2004, prompting a major advertising push. Instead of using traditional B2B marketing tactics—technical sheets, case studies, white papers—Covad took a cinematic approach.

The Advertising Agency Behind It

The creative vision came from GJP Advertising & Design & Partners, a Toronto-based agency known for conceptual, visually bold campaigns. They designed a series of trailers, TV spots, and online assets that looked like promotions for an actual thriller movie. The goal was to break through the monotony of conventional technology advertising and generate curiosity, especially among CIOs, CTOs, and IT staff who might otherwise ignore typical telecom promotions.

Industry commentary from the time remarked that:

• The trailers were “high quality,” “slick,” and “executed like real Hollywood teasers.”

• They were “slow-loading” on early 2000s networks, but visually striking.

• The campaign required a substantial budget and appeared aimed at Fortune-level enterprise accounts.

Marketing Intent

The campaign attempted to associate Covad’s VoIP offerings with:

• Modernity

• Concern for digital vulnerabilities

• The dramatic shift from analog to internet-based telephony

• The idea of “hidden dangers” in outdated communication systems

VoIP was still new to most consumers, and the campaign’s narrative aimed to hook viewers emotionally rather than technically.

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Website Content and Structure

Although the original site has evolved over time, VOIPtheMovie.com historically showcased the components of a fictional thriller film. The website presented:

1. Plot Synopsis

The plot followed Greg Skinner, an art dealer working in Paris who witnesses his girlfriend’s abduction via a digital communication channel. As he returns to New York and attempts to uncover what happened, he becomes immersed in a world of nightmares, digital hallucinations, and mysterious forces linked to corrupted VoIP systems.

2. Characters

Key characters included:

• Greg Skinner – The protagonist, thrust into chaos by a terrifying event witnessed through a VoIP call.

• Joanne – His kidnapped girlfriend.

• Byron Whitworth – A hacker genius whom Greg frees from community service to uncover the truth.

• Snake – Byron’s hacking partner.

• Two detectives – Representing frustrated, slow bureaucracy against an overwhelming digital mystery.

3. Creative Credits (Fictional)

The website listed:

• Directed by James Smith

• Written by James Smith

• Screenplay by Caroline Spence

• Produced by Caroline Spence

These credits served the theatrical illusion. No evidence indicates that a full film was ever produced; it was entirely conceptual.

4. Imagery and Trailers

The campaign included movie-style trailers featuring:

• Shadowy figures

• Wires crawling from office walls

• Phones ringing ominously

• High-contrast lighting reminiscent of early-2000s horror

• A dramatic narrator intoning lines such as
  “No one can escape it… we’re all slaves to it.”

This aesthetic aligned with tech-noir thrillers and digital-horror films of the time.

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Historical Context: VoIP Emerges

When VOIPtheMovie.com appeared, VoIP itself was still new to most households. In 2004:

• Only a small minority of U.S. homes used VoIP services.

• Most people still associated phones with physical copper lines.

• Business VoIP adoption was in its infancy.

• Large telecoms were beginning to face disruption.

Reports from the mid-2000s predicted explosive growth, and those forecasts proved correct: within about a decade, VoIP had become mainstream, with tens of millions of residential and business subscribers in the United States alone.

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How the Website Fit into Covad’s Larger Strategy

Covad hoped to:

• Capture the attention of business buyers

• Stand out from competitors like Vonage, 8x8, and VoicePulse

• Reinforce the idea that Covad’s VoIP systems were modern, secure, and technologically advanced

• Highlight fears around digital security (a common marketing angle at the time)

Many B2B marketers praised the strategy as bold, inventive, and “outside the traditional B2B box.”

Press and Industry Reception

Reactions at the time were mixed but memorable:

Positive reactions included:

• Praise for creativity

• Interest in the cinematic approach

• Admiration for the agency’s willingness to break norms

Critical reactions included:

• Confusion about what was actually being advertised

• Complaints that the spots were “unclear” about Covad’s offerings

• Observations that the campaign might overestimate public familiarity with VoIP

Despite this, the campaign stood out in a crowded telecom marketplace.

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Cultural Significance

VOIPtheMovie.com occupies a unique niche in early internet culture:

1. Early Viral-Style Marketing

Before YouTube, TikTok, or widespread social media, marketers had to rely on:

• Flash-based sites

• Email forwarding

• Niche tech blogs

• Trade press

VOIPtheMovie.com was one of the early attempts to create a movie-like universe around a B2B product.

2. Prefiguring Modern “Cinematic” Ads

Today, it is common for:

• Tech companies to tell stories through cinematic trailers

• Apple, Google, and Amazon to use narrative advertising

• Companies to blur lines between entertainment and marketing

Covad was ahead of its time.

3. Commentary on Technology Anxiety

The early 2000s were ripe with digital paranoia:

• Concerns about hackers

• The unknown risks of internet telephony

• Fears of surveillance

• Horror tropes focusing on corrupted digital spaces

The “movie” played into widespread cultural anxieties, making the marketing message linger emotionally.

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Longevity and Domain History

The domain has changed hands several times:

1. Original Phase (2004–2005)

Part of the Covad campaign; housed trailers and promotional material.

2. Secondary Uses

After expiration, subsequent owners repurposed the domain for unrelated topics, including:

• Retirement information

• Reverse mortgages

3. Restoration Phase

A later owner restored its focus on the original “VoIP: The Movie” concept and compiled:

• Archived campaigns

• Press reactions

• Storyboards

• Historical notes on Covad’s marketing

This preservationist approach helped maintain VOIPtheMovie.com as a digital artifact, rather than letting it fade away.

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Audience and Popularity

Although never mainstream, the site targeted:

• IT decision-makers

• Enterprise buyers

• Tech-savvy professionals

• Telecom analysts

• Marketing enthusiasts

It achieved modest popularity within:

• Technology blogs

• Marketing case studies

• B2B advertising circles

• Telecom forums

Because the campaign was unusual, it was referenced repeatedly in industry commentary throughout the mid-2000s.

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Goals of the Campaign

Covad’s objectives included:

1. Generate Leads

Appeal to enterprise-level buyers with a memorable, cinematic experience.

2. Distinguish Covad from Competitors

Many VoIP providers used dry technical messaging; Covad used psychological-thriller storytelling.

3. Humanize an Abstract Technology

VoIP in 2004 was not widely understood. Presenting it as a “force” within a thriller narrative turned it into something tangible and intriguing.

4. Showcase Creative Branding

The campaign demonstrated that telecom advertising could be imaginative rather than purely functional.

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Examples of Key Creative Elements

1. “The Ringing” Trailer (2005)

A later sequel to the VOIPtheMovie concept featured:

• A woman alone in a dim office

• Wires emerging from the walls

• A sense of being hunted by technological forces

2. Hacker Characters

The inclusion of “Byron Whitworth” and “Snake” tapped into early-2000s fascination with cyber-mysticism and hacker culture.

3. Digital Hallucinations and Nightmares

Themes mirrored broader societal concerns about:

• Digitization

• Indistinguishable realities

• Blurred lines between online and physical worlds

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Cultural and Social Significance

While the site did not revolutionize the film world—because the film never existed—it influenced discussions in:

Marketing

Experts cited it as:

• A pioneering example of B2B “advertainment”

• A demonstration of the power of narrative in technology promotion

• A playful subversion of traditional telecom advertising

VoIP Adoption

Although difficult to measure directly, the campaign contributed to:

• Broader awareness of VoIP technology

• Curiosity among early enterprise adopters

• Discussions about internet-based phone security

Online Preservation

The website now serves as an informal archive documenting:

• Early VoIP marketing

• Early-2000s digital storytelling

• The transition from analog to IP-based communications

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VOIPtheMovie.com remains a fascinating example of creative marketing in a transitional technological era. While the “movie” itself was never a real production, the storytelling framework carried powerful symbolic resonance. The campaign turned a highly technical subject—VoIP telephony—into an emotional, mysterious, cinematic experience that stood out against the backdrop of typical enterprise advertising.

Today, the website stands as both a marketing curiosity and a preserved artifact of digital history. It highlights how early-2000s marketers experimented with immersive narratives long before modern digital campaigns became commonplace. Its legacy lies in its creativity, its willingness to take risks, and its role in illustrating how storytelling can make even complex technologies feel engaging and accessible.

 

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