• by Fern Siegel , August 30, 2023

Back Market, a global marketplace for refurbished tech, is launching a new campaign: “True Geniuses.”

The spot, titled “The Genius Test,”  pits the brand’s refurbished tech against Apple by recruiting ex-Apple geniuses to spot any differences. The ad suggests: If an Apple genius can’t tell the devices apart, then the quality of refurbished tech must be top-notch.

That’s part of Back Market’s mission — to challenge the idea that users must buy new. Instead, it posits refurbished tech as offering the highest quality devices, but cheaper and with less adverse impact on the environment.

“The sellers on our website go through a rigorous vetting process which means that only the best refurbishers can sell on our platform, so when a customer purchases an item in “excellent” condition, they too won’t be able to tell the difference between our product and one that is brand-new,” says Dan Brill, executive creative director, Back Market.

The creative is courtesy of freelance creative directors Conor Hagan and Cori Johnson, Melanie Baublis as executive producer, with Unicorns & Unicorns handling production.

“The Genius Test” will run in the U.S. and the U.K., and may be translated for France, Spain and Germany. It will go live on the Back Market homepage, as well as its YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels.

The spot will also have paid performance marketing across YouTube, Reddit, Meta and TikTok.