AT&T Sues Verizon over Ad

This is the last cellphone related advertising news for a while, promise!

A lot of people know about the recent battle between AT&T (who have the iPhone as their main mobile device) and Verizon, but if you're unfamiliar, here's how it goes down:

AT&T is all like:


They have a few spots with similar "There's an app for that" content. It becomes ubiquitous.

Sooo Verizon attacks with:


Hilarious, yes? Well AT&T is not laughing, and now they've launched a lawsuit claiming that the spot has caused them to lose "incalculable market share" and "invaluable goodwill."Oh really? Who would have imagined that advertising could do something like that!?

AT&T is claiming that people are misinterpreting the "maps" and are seeing them as displaying all ranges of coverage, when in fact the maps only show 3G coverage. It looks to me like they're just sore losers.

Hang in there AT&T. It could be worse. You could be a 3G customer in Alaska! Check out that shoddy coverage.

Via

Verizon Droid - Stealth

!!! I'm not sure whether my excitement is for the commercial or for the free phone upgrade I'll be eligible for in two weeks.

The Motorola Droid is Verizon's Google-based phone (runs the Android mobile system) and it's "dropping" November 6.

The spot was pretty cool. It looked more like a trailer for a doomsday flick, but hey -- it captured my attention.

Guru Grade: 6.5 / 10

Droid Does - Verizon's iDon't iPhone Mockery

Ohhhh snap. Apple has gotta be wincing at this one. An obvious attack at the iPhone, excellently executed and very exciting for Verizon.

It starts out just like your normal Apple commercial would: white background, a yet-to-be-found indie band singing happily (the song is "Magic (Oh Oh Oh)" by MoZella), and little i's all over the place. It's amazing how many things they picked out that the iPhone can't do. I was a little bit surprised.

The website they direct you to (droiddoes.com) is a teaser and email collector referencing the kind of features that Verizon users have been waiting for. Hooray! Can't wait till November.

Guru Grade: 9 / 10

Banned: LG Dare

In this new segment, I will present ads that have been banned from US television networks.
Here's one by Verizon Wireless that has been stripped from the spectrum.



Now to me this ad seemed harmless. When I first saw it I actually didn't really like it anyway. Why would you dare someone to touch something that's just out of reach of a vicious dog? If the dog wasn't on a leash, then it may have been a little more effective... And possibly more accepted by PETA.

Animal-rights activists complained that shackling up the hounds was a cruel and outdated practice that no longer should exist. They said that in the ad the pit-bulls were stereotyped as a violent breed of junkyard beasts, and that man's best friend deserves better than a backyard prison. In their defense, Verizon stated that the ad was "designed to be over-the-top, to break through the clutter and get [their] message across."

Activists Rosa Barks, Frederick Doglass, and Mahatmut Gandhi were the key players in getting the commercial removed. Canines across the globe rejoice.