PR Blog #12- AT&T and Verizon

Verizon recently released a commercial that poked fun at AT&T's ads with Apple, while simultaneously providing some supposedly inaccurate information about their 3G networking. AT&T previously had commercials suggesting certain things a consumer might want to do with an iphone, and responding "There's an app for that." Verizon's commercial suggested that a consumer want to know about AT&T's 3G coverage and saying "There's a map for that." This map shows significant lack of AT&T coverage, particularly in the Southwest area.

I'm showing AT&T response to Verizon's commericals. They have featured Luke Wilson in three commercials that combat Verizon's claims.

Commercial 1 compares the networks "side by side."

Commercial 2 does another comparison, mainly showing how AT&T coverage allows to to access the Internet while talking on the phone, and Verizon's coverage does not.

Commerical 3 was released three days ago. It shows the coverage of the map AT&T allows. Luke Wilson claims he's here to set the record straight. Interestingly enough, the map shows AT&T coverage, but does not specify 3G coverage. If one is paying attention, one might question if Verizon is correct. Because the ad is only three days old, I haven't been able to find a very clear video; this is one someone recorded while watching a football game. (Coincidentally I first saw the commercial during the Cowboys game today which gave me the idea for this post.) I hope to find a clearer video before the semester is over.

Despite this detail, I commend AT&T from a PR perspective for their quick responses. They are acknowledging that other companies are taking a swipe at them.

Another smart PR move of AT&T- publicizing their connection to Toms shoes. In short, Toms is a company with a "1 for 1 ratio." For every pair of shoes they sell, they give away a pair to a child in need. The "Chief Shoe Giver" operates his entire business through his Blackberry using the AT&T network. Toms is a reputable company that has ethos and pathos appeal. Here are a few videos that show the process of the commercial.

Video 1- this is from the AT&T website. It gives the crash course on how the commercial was made, and at the end shows the commercial. This link takes you to the media gallery where you have to browse for the video. The picture is yellow with the profile of Blake Mycoskie (The Chief Shoe Giver). The title of the video is "Toms Shoes Counts on 'More Bars in More Places'".

Video 2 and video 3 show the crash course and commercial separately, in case you want to skip ahead to the commercial, but the video footage is not as clear and not everything is shown.