AT&T Online Ad Attacking Verizon Is Misleading, Justifies the “There’s a Map for That” Ads

By now, you’ve probably seen Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” TV advertisement, which is aimed at Apple’s “There’s an App for That” TV advertisements (picture to your left). As the only provider of the Apple iPhone in the United States, AT&T did what it thought of as the only thing it could to put a stop to Verizon’s damaging ads… they filed a lawsuit against Verizon, telling the judge to have the ads pulled. No dice. The judge denied AT&T’s request, but apparently, the company will get another chance in mid-December to argue its case.

Scrambling for a response to Verizon’s ad, AT&T did two things: first, it tossed Luke Wilson into a room and had him toss around some postcards that represented AT&T’s network coverage (no mention of 3G coverage—just “network coverage”), and second, it created interactive online advertisements. Good job, AT&T; attack on as many fronts as you can, within your advertising budget. However, I think AT&T’s arguments on why its service is better than Verizon’s are extremely weak and inaccurate.

Starting at the top of this list, we have Nation’s fastest 3G network. Great! Got that out of the way. Take that, Verizon! But, wait, what’s that asterisk? Oh, that would be a disclaimer stating “3G coverage not available in all areas.” This verbiage also appears in TV ads. Isn’t that what Verizon has been discussing in its recent TV ads? This first list item seems to enforce Verizon’s argument.

Second, AT&T has listed Talk and surf or download simultaneously as one of its network perks. This is true. Not much to disagree with here.

The next item on the list, Most popular smartphones, is blown way out of proportion. AT&T definitely has the most popular smartphone in the iPhone, but other than that, the wireless service provider doesn’t have a killer device; Verizon doesn’t really have one, but with the recent release of the Motorola Droid, that’s debatable. Overall, I think this line item should have read Most popular smartphone, singular.

And finally, we have the most misleading, gross misinterpretation of AT&T’s service—Access to over 100,000 apps. It’s well known that the iPhone has tons and tons of apps. However, I think it’s important to note that these 100,000+ apps are only accessible to iPhone users.

Overall, I think this ad is primarily speaking from the point of view of AT&T’s iPhone customers, which still only represents a minority of the company’s subscribers.

 

Note: I’m an AT&T customer.

Resources: Newsday: Judge rejects AT&T's bid to pull Verizon ads

Going the monetization route, but not entirely

In an effort to help with funding of this Web site, I’m going to start placing ad links in certain blogs that I write. The links will not be cost-per-click links; instead, they will be affiliate links, similar to the image ads on the Ads page. Not each post will have one, so if you’re really against this subtle, almost passive marketing technique, don’t worry.

If I mention a neat product or service like, say, a moderate interest rate on a savings account from ING Direct, then I would add a link to the company’s name, directing you to the site in a new window or tab. (Speaking of which, I just signed up for an Orange Savings Account through this bank last night. It’s definitely worth a look!)

While this is going on, I’m continuing to market this site to a larger audience. Comments to blog posts are always welcome, especially if you have an idea to expand on or to introduce.

Thanks for helping to keep this site running. It’s been a lot of fun so far!

Get with it, people!

I'm going to just come out with it; I don't agree with President Obama's decision to postpone the digital convergence from February 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009.

People, we've had two solid years to figure out how to individually handle this transition, either by buying a new TV that meets the new digital requirements, buying a digital converter box, or, hell, requesting a voucher for a free one. I think most people didn’t felt any sense of emergency or just were confused, but really, there’s no excuse for not being prepared. The Internet is for research, and even for the few that don’t frequent the Internet to do research, all you have to do is ask a friend, inquire about it at an electronics store, call your cable provider. There were/are so many resources for people to figure out what’s going on, but nobody takes advantage of them.

Companies like AT&T and Verizon have spent, and now possibly wasted, millions of dollars waiting for the analog TV airwave to become available so that they can use it to develop new technologies and services. Because of this five-month delay, we’re taking a step back not just in technological innovation, but in building new opportunities for our economy.