October 2016 — Afghanistan.
A man was shot—
The bullet raced straight toward his chest.
But then…
It stopped.
Why?
Because in his pocket was an old Nokia 301 phone.
Yes, this is a real story.
That Nokia phone absorbed the bullet—
And the man survived.
The story went viral instantly.
The internet flooded with memes, videos, tweets, and Facebook posts:
- “Nokia = Bulletproof!”
- “Nokia, truly indestructible!”
- “Buy this phone, even bullets get scared! 😄”
This is Word of Mouth Marketing in action.
Nokia didn’t say a word—
People did the marketing for them.
And that’s the most powerful kind of marketing there is.
3 Timeless Marketing Lessons from This One Story:
1. Products get old—brands don’t.
You may not be trending today.
But if your brand has quality, consistency, and trust,
One unexpected moment can bring you back into the spotlight.
2. Real stories > Million-dollar ad campaigns.
This wasn’t a planned marketing stunt.
It was real. Human. Unexpected.
And that authenticity made a lasting impact on people.
3. Build products that create their own stories.
Nokia never claimed their phone was bulletproof.
But the design, the build—it was a story in itself.
If your product is genuinely good, people will tell the story for you.
You don’t need a new campaign every time.
Sometimes, an old product becomes the hero—
If it solves a problem in a way people can’t ignore.
So ask yourself—
What does your product do that people will naturally talk about, share, and trust?
