New Verizon ad calls iPhone 'misfit toy'
Verizon has decided to take the spirit of Christmas and shove it into the part of iPhone users' chimneys where Santa would need a pick ax.
Some who viewed the first Droid teaser ad, just a couple of weeks ago, were stunned to see Verizon so baldly declare that the Apple uber-machine was, in some ways, deficient.
Rumor had it that this was an isolated attempt at leveraging publicity for the new Motorola device. However, this new ad shows that the iPhone is firmly on Verizon's list. And it's not Verizon's Christmas list.
The ad places the iPhone on the mythical Island of Misfit Toys. It's an island inhabited solely by those things you don't need, don't want and don't work.
At first, the strange collection of pink spotted elephants and peculiar Grandads-in-a-Box-Wearing-Some-Very-Strange-Bits-of-Chiffon are astonished that the iPhone has come to their island.
But then the Verizon version of the little AT&T 3G coverage map helpfully points out that it might be harder to download your beloved apps in some parts of the country.
"You're going to fit right in here!" squeaks a strange little blue object with wings, a propeller and a hearty dose of gallows humor.
Can one ever imagine that Apple might create a version of the "Get a Mac" structure with a new human (Joss Stone, perhaps?) representing the iPhone and a rather more vulnerable human (Kirstie Alley, perhaps?) representing Verizon?
Somehow, that wouldn't quite fit, would it?
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
Obviously, they brought in the misfit ad creator who formerly crafted the Windows ads without mentioning the product.
The commercial was funny. Obviously, not all the technical info is correct. And obviously, the storyline continues on such that the misfits are eventually accepted....but they were were still misfits.
I like these type of "throw-back" commercials that uses old themes to clown other businesses.
Parody is fair use.
This add is brilliant. It hits at the same level the Apple anti PC adds do. MicroSoft should have thought of it.
I'm tired of ads that merely smack at other ads. I understand that in order to get new customers they have to steal them, but it still bothers me. And those Droid ads....the thing falling from the sky and popping out; that told me absolutely nothing about the phone or anything else. At least the "iDon't" ads said something. Interesting that the camera sucks.
To be against the iphone... theyd have to mention how many apps it has.... 10 for farting.
I can't help thinking that another element of Verizon's strategy is to preempt whatever cute animated Christmas ads Apple has in the pipeline. I'm glad to see that someone at Verizon is thinking, anyway.
With ads like these, people might just go with Sprint or some other carrier....
This is the question folks have been asking of Apple with their switcher ads. What goes around comes around.
Grats bro.
"If our phone is such garbage as you claim it is, why would you want it on your network at all, I think we'll do you the favor of not offering it to your customers, since it doesn't do half as much as your precious droid does, why would you need us? Sprints been pretty nice lately...."
And I think quite a few people see it that way as well , sorry Verizon, looks like you dug yourself a hole, and now your gonna live in it....
If the whole 'iPhone on Verizon' rumor turns out to be true, I wonder how much humble pie Verizon will be forced to eat after all this bluster (or rather, how many concessions will they be forced to give)?
No one has said differently... or did you need something that badly to support your first sentence? ;)
(I even provided the numbers straight-up... )
"Why do you think AT&T hasn't bothered to fire back an ad of their own?"
Most likely because they've been growing at a faster rate (that is, they've come up from back-of-the-pack to #2 of the US market in just two short years, swallowing Cingular along the way if memory serves).
Funny part is, neither can hold a candle to the likes of NTT, who is the biggest in global revenues (not counting NTT DoCoMo, which sits at #8 all by itself). Verizon and AT&T are #2 and 3, respectively. Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) sits at a fairly close #4 once you count global revenues.
So, err, before you go back into your worship of Verizon and all, realize that they ain't the biggest kid in town, either
(...and this is coming from a guy who uses not an iPhone or Droid phone, but a humble Crackberry).
I like the ad. I had to lookup what the misfit toys were but now I enjoy the ad more.
But yes AT&T's coverage up here is the pits. Been waiting forever to get 3G in Fairbanks. AT&T promises 3G will be available the next season for the last 2 years. You folks in the Lower 48 are lucky in the sense you have true choices!
I love my iPhone and abandoned Verizon precisely since they didn't have the device I wanted. I still won't abandon my iPhone as I absolutely love how flawlessly all my Apple products work in concert with one another.
However, I would strongly consider abandoning AT&T if other networks with better coverage starting selling the iPhone. Good luck to the Android OS. Good competition generally has the effect of creating stronger products as the wars ensue. The true beneficiary is ultimately the consumer.
Verzon has done more to keep smart phones stupid than any other carrier.
One wonders what wll happen when smart phones which actually make consuming bandwidth enjoyable - and let's face it those haven't existed until quite recently - start gnawing at VZW.
Verizon support = F
Verizon wireless = Yeah, right.
I'm tired of ads that merely smack at other ads. I understand that in order to get new customers they have to steal them, but it still bothers me. And those Droid ads....the thing falling from the sky and popping out; that told me absolutely nothing about the phone or anything else. At least the "iDon't" ads said something. Interesting that the camera sucks.
- by baconstang November 8, 2009 5:24 PM PST
- If/when Verizon gets the iPhone (or maybe before) AT&T will rip them about the lack of simultaneous data voice.
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