Asking 100 people to smash their current smartphones in exchange for the new OnePlus One may have seemed like marketing gold at one point, but the contest quickly hit a speed bump when critics noted that destroying all those perfectly good phones was pretty wasteful. In response, the Chinese company revised its contest today, announcing that all winners will be given the choice to smash their phones as planned or donate the devices to Medic Mobile instead.
Tomorrow we will be contacting the 100 lucky winners of our Smash the Past contest. Out of more than 140,000 applicants, these lucky fans will get a OnePlus One for only $1. ‘Smash the Past’ stemmed from a conversation a few of us had right as OnePlus was transforming from an idea to a real company. We wanted to build a device that was so good people would smash the phones they already had because they simply couldn’t live up. We believe we have that device in the One, and have been overwhelmed by the response to both the phone and the campaign. OnePlus is a young startup with bold ideas. It’s tough to just survive in this industry, nevermind shake it up as we hope to do. ‘Smash’ reflects our desire to do just that: show the world that there’s something new available, something that just may be better than your current daily driver.
