Virtual Zippo Lighter is the most popular branded iPhone app of all time.

Zippo Manufacturing Company and Moderati Inc. announced that their Virtual Zippo Lighter, a free branded application available in Apple's iTunes App Store for the iPhone and the iPod Touch has reached the five million download mark as of the end of July.

The Virtual Zippo Lighter, which brings the look and feel of Zippo's iconic lighter to the iPhone, has become a global phenomenon and ranks in the top 20 iPhone apps of all time according to Comscore. It opens with a flick of the wrist and lights with a turn of the flint wheel and the truly windproof flame sways as the device is moved back and forth. The Virtual Zippo Lighter allows Zippo fans to experience the famous "Zippo Encore Moment" for free, by holding their cell phones aloft and swaying to power ballads at concerts.

The Virtual Zippo Lighter features a selection of designs to customize the skin of the lighter, as well as an animated flame that reacts to movement of the phone. The application takes advantage of several features of the iPhone and iPod Touch developer platform, including the accelerometer to enable movement of the flame in response to motion. Realistic sound effects highlight the action of the lighter when it opens and closes, and the vibration feature lets you know when the flame is upside down.

Zippo manufactures an average of 11 million windproof pocket lighters each year, and 450 million since the first lighter was created in 1932. This collaboration with Moderati represents the brand's first cooperative foray into downloadable applications for mobile devices, and a successful one at that.

“If you were to tell us how popular the Virtual Zippo app would be twelve months ago, we would have told you that you flipped your lighter lid” jokes Pat Grandy, Marketing Communications Manager at Zippo, “but the results speak for themselves.”

The Virtual Zippo Lighter was launched in the U.S. in September 2008 and was recently released in several countries in Western Europe. It is now available to iPhone and iPod Touch users in 22 countries.

This fall, the companies are releasing a premium version of the Virtual Zippo Lighter app to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Virtual Zippo Lighter launch. Users will be able to choose between the classic or buy the new $.99 version that, among other options, allows users to personalize their lighters with a huge variety of downloadable skins, designs, and images.

“It’s amazing to go to a concert anywhere in the U.S. and see Zippo lighters – both real and virtual - waving from the crowd”, stated Moderati CEO Jon Vlassopulos.
 

See the sea of real and virtual Zippo Encore Moments for yourself. Find a concert near you and rock with Zippo!

Moderati, a Bellrock Media Company, is a digital content agency that helps brands connect with their consumers through engaging entertainment experiences. Moderati has deep roots in mobile content and entertainment, and has been a trusted partner of top-tier wireless carriers since 2001. The company is a subsidiary of Japan's leading branded entertainment shop, Bellrock Media, with backing from Yoshimoto Kogyo, the agency that dominates talent management and production in Japan. Moderati is headquartered in San Francisco, California.