The Empire at AT&T Strikes Back-with blanks

Verizon has captured the attention and imagination of cellphone fanatics everywhere by combining facts and humor to promote its strong nationwide 3G coverage while at the same time, gently knocking AT&T right where the nation's number two cellular network is at its weakest-3G coverage. By taking AT&T's own "There's an app for that" and turning it into "There's a map for that", Verizon exposed its rival on national T.V. and forced the number two network to a witty but pointed comeback of its own. However, using Luke Wilson to deliver the message probably wasn't the best idea, and the message itself gets lost in the shuffle.

The main problem lies in the maps. AT&T has never been able to refute Verizon's "5 times more 3G coverage" claim and in fact, admits that it is true. The law suits have never been about 3G. The legal battles deal with AT&T saying that the maps are drawn in a way to make viewers think that the company has no coverage in areas where it has no 3G when the truth is that there is coverage in the form of EDGE-a 2.5G network that is not as fast as 3G and has limitations. So when Mr. Wilson says that 300 million Americans are within reach of AT&T's cellular network, well, many of those people can not get 3G service from AT&T. The postcards? Not funny or informative. Most of the places that are mentioned in the AT&T ad are places where the company does have 3G coverage. After all, you would expect New York City, Chicago and Atlanta to be locations where both cellular operators would spend to have the best possible signal. And listen carefully to the copy. Mr. Wilson says the postcards are from places where AT&T has service with no mention made of 3G coverage. By ignoring this, AT&T is actually agreeing with its challenger.

What AT&T needs to do is to stop wasting money on these spots that do nothing but remind viewers why Verizon is the nation's number one carrier, and use the bucks to build out the rest of its 3G network. Once that work is all done, a new ad could be made that shows the new 3G coverage. The only problem is that by then, we probably will be well into competition over 4G.

source: Erictric