Six months after AT&T’s deal to buy T-Mobile USA collapsed, T-Mobile’s TV ads are going back on the attack against a favorite target: AT&T Inc.
Philipp Humm, the CEO of T-Mobile, showed off a new ad Tuesday featuring a hapless man on a motorcycle, cruising on a desert road as a woman on another motorcycle blows past him. The voiceover explains that the man represents an iPhone 4S on AT&T’s network, and the woman is T-Mobile’s 4G network.
The ad recalls other attack ads T-Mobile showed a year and a half ago. They likened the iPhone to a young man, carrying on his back a frumpy middle-aged man who represented AT&T’s data network. The message: AT&T’s network slows down the iPhone.
Those ads disappeared last spring when AT&T offered to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. That deal collapsed in December after regulators opposed it on grounds that No. 2 carrier AT&T buying No. 4 T-Mobile would reduce competition.
Between the announcement of the deal and its collapse, T-Mobile was in limbo. That hurt the company’s brand, and it’s now looking at “relaunching” it, Humm told attendees at CTIA Wireless, the U.S. cellphone industry’s annual trade show, which kicked off Tuesday in New Orleans.
Ralph de la Vega, the head of AT&T’s wireless division, was on hand at the same event to give his opinion about the ads.
“It’s comparing a phone to a network,” de la Vega said. “Everyone gets that, right?”
The iPhone 4S can’t use AT&T latest wireless data network, which uses so-called “LTE” technology. Nor could it utilize the top speeds on T-Mobile’s network, even if it were available for T-Mobile subscribers.
“That’s why this industry has a bad rap, we take the truth and we stretch it,” de la Vega said.
Sprint Nextel Corp. CEO Dan Hesse, on the same panel discussion, chided both AT&T and T-Mobile for their advertising, saying some in the industry have “taken creative license around the use of the digit ‘4’.” Both AT&T and T-Mobile have networks that are considered “3G,” or “third-generation,” in industry jargon, but started advertising them as “4G” when they upgraded the speeds.
Hesse argued that the wireless industry’s “Achilles’ heel” is the low trust people put in it, and the confusion around the network branding doesn’t help.
T-Mobile subscribers could get a chance to test the claims of the motorcycle ad later this year, as T-Mobile rejiggers its network. That will, for the first time, make the iPhone compatible with T-Mobile’s “4G” network. Even if T-Mobile doesn’t sell the phone, used iPhones could be brought over from other carriers.
Director Tim Bullock Goes ROGUE In U.K.
Director Tim Bullock has joined ROGUE Films’ U.K. roster for commercials and branded content. He continues to be handled in the U.S. market by Ruffian, in Australia by Scoundrel, in France by Division and in Germany by Tony Petersen Film GmbH.
Bullock’s work spans drama and comedy. In his own words, Bullock is “all about mining for a reaction--whether it be laughter or tears or inspiration.” He is a master of adopting a tone of voice and stylistic approach that suits the script and the message. Prior to joining ROGUE, Bullock was repped in the U.K. by Blink.
Kate Taylor, ROGUE managing director and partner, commented, “Tim Bullock has a reel that oozes confidence and craft - that there are a few big chortles to be had, just makes it for me. I’ve been a huge fan of his for years--so, naturally, I’m delighted that he’s chosen to come to Rogue--and no, I don’t need to go to Specsavers. I know exactly what I’m looking at when I look at his work. Genius! That’s what.”
Bullock said, “Throughout my time directing, Rogue has always been a name associated with rock-solid, quality work. I like that the company represents a breadth of directors with differing styles but all united by a high standard of work. Sam Brown is particularly inspiring to me. And what’s not to like about Kate Taylor? I’ve been a long time fan of hers and I can’t wait to work with her.”
Famously a “suit” in his previous life, Bullock started out as a corporate recovery consultant for KPMG and then an account director at Saatchi & Saatchi before he began to fulfill his unleashed creativity directing short films. These shorts just kept winning awards so Bullock jumped ship from the corporate world and landed fully in the world of... Read More