The Worst Ads on Television
I talked about some pretty bad TV ads yesterday, but they’re nothing like a series of AT&T ads that are airing right now (and are probably airing this very second, since they seem to be on during every single waking moment of the day).
They’re all 10-second long ads, and they annoy the hell out of me. They also get played so often, and typically in succession, that I want to throw my television out the window… or someone’s cell phone.
I’m talking about the series of three ads, one of which is this one:
Okay. So what’s wrong with this ad? Have you been to a concert in the last couple years? Have you had the urge to rip someone’s cell phone out of their hands and stomp on it? Because I sure have. I’m sorry, I came here to see the band, not a crappy pixelated 15-second movie of the band on your phone that you’re totally going to upload to YouTube when you get home.
This is one of three situations that remind me that while I could not live without my cell phone, I hate cell phones. The other two situations? When a movie ends in a movie theater, the credits roll, and everyone in the goddamn theater starts turning on their phones and making obnoxious beeping noises; and when a plane pulls up to the gate, and every single passenger on the plane insists on calling everyone they know to tell them they just landed.
Coincidentally, those two situations are also depicted in the second and third ads in this series.
What the hell were the executives at AT&T thinking when they approved these ads? Why would you ever want to associate your product with something that people hate about your product? I’m just completely stunned by the stupidity of letting these ads air… and the fact that they air constantly. As if the situations themselves weren’t annoying enough, now you have to jam these situations into our heads.
Great marketing decision, AT&T. Just brilliant.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 9:07 am and is filed under General stupidity. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
david says:I couldn’t really agree more. Cellphones are damn useful, but they’re not a solution to lame-i-tude.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Lynn says:Ha! I love this post!! I totally agree - the concert one I don’t mind as much - digital lighters instead of a club in flames I am all for! But the planes and movie theatre thing are sooooo effing annoying. I actually just posted a blog about the movie one.
I basically got bitch slapped by my Best Friend when I told her to stop checking her messages on the stairs!. So yeah, I get it!
August 30th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Max says:Agreed. So, this means that some exec at AT & T paid some ad expert to run these ads to remind of us of how annoying cell phones can be on the plane & in theaters. Genius marketing department!
August 30th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
quin says:when i divorced, i sold my half of our 401K behemoth at&t stock, at right around $75 a share.
my ex held on to his, sneering that he’d leave me a pauper.
it was changed to lucent, then something else, and when he finally sold it, it was worth around $4.32.
i don’t know what at&t is worth now, but, i don’t think it’s $75 i got. they need the money.
i’d say more on the actual subject, but, i laugh every time i think of his $4.32 a share.
heh.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Ryan says:I see a Seinfeld episode in the making.