Disclaimer: I’m a T-Mobile user. Most of my family uses it and I’ve always been happy with it. Right now I’m slowly working my way up to a phone that does more than text and take low-res pictures, so I’ve been paying close attention to the latest smartphones to come to this wireless provider. T-Mobile has some new phones that look great, and this whole 4G thing sounds good to me…
…But I hate their new commercials.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been a customer for over 4 years and I feel somewhat a part of the company (It can be pretty easy to win my loyalty), but I’m almost offended by their 4G MyTouch campaign. It’s great that they have this cool new phone and it’s great that they have fast connection speeds, but just because Apple ended its successful “Get a Mac” campaign doesn’t mean they had to pick it up to keep the idea going. While I loved those ads, after four years the campaign was getting a little old.
Now I’m switching sides to the Devil’s T-Mo’s Advocate (or is it “Loyal Customer”?) role. I think the commercials are done pretty well and they do keep the humor of the original Mac ads without directly copying any of the specific ideas/metaphors/imagery of those ads. These new 4G ads stand out from most of the regular cell phone ads that feature “simulated screenshots” or nicely dressed people using the advertised phone.
…But the ad man part of me is still annoyed that T-Mobile (and their agency) didn’t take the time to come up with something completely new. Of course, it’s easy to sit in the audience and criticize–I wasn’t in the agency meetings and I don’t have any better ideas of my own (as of yet), but I believe that there exists at least one totally original idea for every campaign/product out there. It may take some time and several edits to find it, but it’s gotta be there.
What do you think? Was this the best T-Mobile could do for its new 4G phones? Do you have any new ideas for them? Discuss below!
P.S. Dear T-Mobile, I really do like your service and your phones and I will very likely stay with you for another two-year contract. This was just something I had to get off my chest. No hard feelings?
My name is Scott Bowen. I like to find trends and patterns in advertising and campaigns that I think do a great (or a bad) job connecting with their audience or using a creative new idea.
I completely agree… this idea has been spoofed enough that even the spoof is old news. It’s time for companies competing with apple to stand on their own two feet.
Im with you, i hate t mobiles commercials. I always said it was a rip off of the, “hi, im Mac & im a PC”, commercials for apple. great post! -J