Wingstop and Deliveroo Put Trust on the Line by Challenging Gen Z to Pick Up the Phone

There was a time when the sound of a ringing phone carried urgency. It meant presence. It meant interruption was welcome. Now, for Gen-Z, the unexpected call has become something closer to a test, one most would rather avoid. With over 60% of Gen-Z admitting they wouldn’t answer an unexpected call from a friend, the phone has shifted from a symbol of connection to a symbol of hesitation. Into that silence steps a bold proposition from Deliveroo and Wingstop: what if the simple act of answering the phone meant something tangible again, something shared, something flavoured?

Their activation, titled Do Me A Flavour, reframes the phone call as opportunity. Housed inside a towering phone booth installation appearing in Manchester and Leeds, students are invited to dial the one person they trust most to pick up. There is no rehearsal, no warning text sent ahead, only instinct. If the friend answers, the caller is rewarded instantly with free Wingstop wings. If not, the moment dissolves into missed connection. Hosted by AJ Shabeel, whose own digital career was built on constant connectivity, the activation plays with the irony of a generation permanently online yet selectively unavailable. His presence bridges both worlds of hyper-visible digital persona and the fragile, uncertain intimacy of a single unanswered call.

Laura Brady, Deliveroo Head of Regional Marketing, spoke on the importance of this partnered campaign by saying “We’re a nation that doesn’t always like to answer the phone, so we thought we’d give students in Manchester and Leeds a good reason to. The ‘Do Me A Flavour’ phone booth brings a bit of fun to campus and brings to life what Deliveroo Students is about - giving students better value on the brands they love with free delivery and exclusive offers. Partnering with Wingstop is a perfect match: bold flavours, big moments and awesome discounts.”

What makes the project compelling is not the wings themselves, but what they represent. The reward becomes proof of relationship, a physical confirmation that someone, somewhere, chose to respond. These days communication is curated, delayed, and filtered through text bubbles and typing indicators, the phone booth introduces risk back into connection. It asks a simple but revealing question of who would pick up for you, without hesitation? Deliveroo’s broader student initiative reinforces this ethos, offering ongoing perks like free delivery and exclusive discounts, but the real currency here is trust.

The booth becomes becomes a social mirror. The dial is a quiet act of vulnerability in public space, each ring a suspension of certainty. Some calls will be answered with laughter, others with confusion, and some with silence. But in every outcome, the project exposes how closeness is measured in moments answered.

By bringing back the ringtone, Deliveroo and Wingstop are restoring weight to a gesture that once defined connection, reminding a generation that sometimes, the most meaningful response is simply picking up.

To get involved, students simply sign up to Deliveroo Students for free on the day, step in front of the huge phone, choose the mate they trust most (or least), and dial. If their friend answers then boom, a box of free Wingstop. The bonus is, students who signed up to Deliveroo Students get free delivery and 10% off Wingstop all year round when they spend £20+ (excluding fees).

Locations below:

• Manchester: Oxford Road, University of Manchester (M13 9PL), 23rd February, 11:30 AM - 5:00 PM

• Leeds: Portland Way, Leeds Beckett University (LS1 3HE), 24th February, 11:30 AM - 5:00 PM