Conceived by filmmaker and VICELAND co-founder Spike Jonze, LEAVE A MESSAGE broadcasts anonymous voice messages left on the VICELAND hotline. Prompted by a series of social posts using only an image and phone number as a call to action, this bold and provocative campaign encouraged viewers to speak freely and ferociously about any number of topics from VICELAND programming to gay pride to one man’s love of toast. LEAVE A MESSAGE took on a new scope and sense of immediacy in the wake of the 2017 presidential election. At a time when many Americans felt their votes weren’t heard, VICELAND wanted to make sure their voices were. Eager for a platform and encouraged by VICELAND’s powerful STAND FOR SOMETHING campaign, thousands of messages poured in on issues ranging from gun control and 1st Amendment rights to climate change and police brutality.

The phone number existed even before our channel was on air. We used a way to hear from our audience before launching in 2016. The number was posted mysteriously on social media, in digital and print campaigns. For the first 24 hours of our network on TV, we only aired voicemails that had been received prior to launch. But what started as a launch stunt quickly grew into a defining aspect of our brand.

When someone calls, they are greeted with a legal message outlining how VICELAND may use the content. And they are told to hang up if they are under 18 years old. We have the ability to add up to five prompts, giving the caller an opportunity to speak to specific issues. These are changed out monthly to respond to current events and our current programming.

There is actually someone who listens to every voicemail that comes in. They handpick the most interesting/compelling/funny/weird ones to hand off to an editor for design. The audio is paired with visuals or captioning that speaks to the tone of the voicemail. These multi-media spots are then shared on our channel and social media feeds, encouraging new voicemails in the process.

Thousands of viewers have called to LEAVE A MESSAGE. The hotline generates about 85 voicemails per day. Hundreds of voicemails have been chosen to be designed, mixed, and shared on TV and with our 5M social media followers, receiving over 131 million impressions.

VICELAND networks around the world have also launched their own hotlines, with phone numbers and social campaigns in France, UK, Belgium, and Australia.

We set out to be a TV channel made of people, and the voices of our viewers have become the voice of our channel.