Verizon sets its sights on Apple, AT&T in ad campaign

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Verizon has upped the ante in its battle versus Apple and AT&T, airing a series of ads which make claims of AT&T's lack of 3G coverage and iPhone shortcomings.



In a 30 second advertisement which first aired Saturday during the ALCS baseball game, Verizon unveiled a new ad targeting the iPhone. The ad, which greatly resembles Apple's stylized spots, listed several of the iPhone's proposed weaknesses when compared to Verizon's new Droid smartphone with the tagline "iDon't."



No real details about the Droid phone were presented in the spot, instead viewers were directed to a Web site where e-mail addresses could be submitted for more information.







This is not the first ad that has specifically lampooned the iPhone. Verizon also released an ad which compares the 3G coverage of their service to that of AT&T's, using the tagline "there's a map for that." It parodies Apple's own iPhone advertisements, which have famously touted that "There's an app for that."



Verizon was one of the carriers that Apple originally looked to before the initial launch of the iPhone, but Verizon ultimately passed on an exclusive 5-year deal, citing a variety of issues from Apple royalties to customer care.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 166
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Nice visuals, but pretty lame. Brings more attention to idont.com, which is squatted. Going to be an interesting turn in the industry soon... we'll have to see what shakes out.
  • Reply 2 of 166
    iDon't get it.. :S
  • Reply 3 of 166
    My very non-technical wife, who has an iPhone 3G, watched the "Droid" add. She quickly knew it was against the iPhone, had no clue what "Droid" is or means, and has no desire to figure it out. Most of the add talks about a competitor, and most consumers won't know, or care, what "droid" is.



    Having said that, I hope any android phone on Verizon is at least somewhat successful so Apple will continue to be motivated to further innovate with the iPhone.
  • Reply 4 of 166
    They make some good criticisms.



    I find it funny that Apple is hurrah'd when they make fun of Microsoft or Dell, but then people poo-poo anyone who does the same to the almighty Apple. "You can dish it out but you can't take it" comes to mind.
  • Reply 5 of 166
    Wonder if Verizon already knows that they are years away from being able to support the iPhone (when their 4G Network is up and running). Hence, the iPhone is now the 'enemy' for years to come.
  • Reply 6 of 166
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frugality View Post


    They make some good criticisms.



    I find it funny that Apple is hurrah'd when they make fun of Microsoft or Dell, but then people poo-poo anyone who does the same to the almighty Apple. "You can dish it out but you can't take it" comes to mind.



    Thats because apple make good products and microsoft....

    Well, you know the story.
  • Reply 7 of 166
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    All valid points. The iPhone has some glaring omissions which the competition will capitalise on. Competition = good.
  • Reply 8 of 166
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    As stated by the guy above, it seems like verizon is not going to get iPhone any time soon, which leaves T-Mobile as the most likely next provider to get it (since they already support visual voicemail and other features via Deutsche Telekom.



    The ad itself is not too factual, as iPhone does have multitasking (u can listen to music and browse the web for example) just not for all apps. I had the chance to try out multitasking via jailbreak, I would say that it was the right move by apple to limit multitasking, as it does eat away at battery life, providing no real benefits.



    As far as taking pics in the dark, I doubt droid would do too well in this category.



    Anywho, I like the android platform, and I think it is a good competitor to iPhone OS. It is open (so is OSX, sort of) and its developer base will only grow. This will challange but will not destroy the iPhone platform.



    The only odd one out is Windows Mobile, but honestly I think 6.5 is fairly good, though I still think that WinMo will always be lagging behind due to apparent distate of microsoft to outside developers (as evidences by lack of app store for the zune.)
  • Reply 9 of 166
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frugality View Post


    They make some good criticisms.



    I find it funny that Apple is hurrah'd when they make fun of Microsoft or Dell, but then people poo-poo anyone who does the same to the almighty Apple. "You can dish it out but you can't take it" comes to mind.



    Except Apple doesn't make fun of Microsoft or Dell, they make fun of "PCs."



    Moreover, this isn't a phone competitor calling out Apple, this is Verizon, a carrier.



    There's a world of difference between Verizon the telecommunications company attacking a single phone that they don't have on their system and Apple gently mocking the entire rest of the generic PC industry.



    Is Verizon competing directly with Apple now? If so, doesn't that tell you all you need to know about how Verizon sees itself, and why Apple's with them went nowhere? That is, if Verizon's long history of crippling phones in order to fit them into Verizon's idea of how everything should work hadn't already clued you in.
  • Reply 10 of 166
    What I don't understand is everyone just looking at this as iphone vs. Verizon. Nobody seems to be upset of the line 5 year exclusive deal. Why should I buy a phone and get stuck to one carrier. How is that capitalism? Why can't I buy the best phone out there and go to the best service out there. Wake up people.
  • Reply 11 of 166
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    It'll be interesting to see what Verizon has done to Android when Droid is released. Some people have noticed that, while ostensibly a Motorola handset, the name "Droid" has actually been licensed from Lucasfilm to Verizon.



    Verizon seems to be heavily invested in the idea that they're never going to be relegated to being a dumb pipe, and that they're a player in mobile computing industry.



    I don't think that's a good idea, because it means that their handset are inevitably going to be biased towards services that benefit Verizon. I would be like if AOL had decided that they needed to make computers that played to AOL's profit centers-- maybe semi-successful for a little while, but ultimately self-defeating.
  • Reply 12 of 166
    albimalbim Posts: 68member
    I don't think Verizon realizes that everyone wants the iPhone if they're stuck with a contract on verizon. I know I'm not buying another phone until the iPhone comes over. It might be a long wait...
  • Reply 13 of 166
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drknite30 View Post


    What I don't understand is everyone just looking at this as iphone vs. Verizon.



    Um, because it's a thread about Verizon running an ad pitting itself against the iPhone?



    Quote:

    Nobody seems to be upset of the line 5 year exclusive deal.



    There are lots of threads where people do little but bitch about this. Do you require every thread to address your concerns?



    Quote:

    Why should I buy a phone and get stuck to one carrier. How is that capitalism? Why can't I buy the best phone out there and go to the best service out there. Wake up people.



    Oh, I dunno, why does any phone get exclusive carrier deals? Why can't I run every game on the market on any game console? Why doesn't my Comcast box play back Hulu content? Why doesn't the Zune work with Macs?



    It's like a socialist death camp out there.
  • Reply 14 of 166
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    So where are all the ads targeting RIM's latest offering? Or the Pre? Or even a single WinMo phone?



    It's pretty clear at this point that the iPhone, with all its faults, has upset the decade-old status quo in the so-called 'smart phone' universe. What's funny by omission is that no one even bothers to compete with the iPod anymore (except for that money-furnace up in Redmond.) I can't predict that Apple's tablet will continue this level of success, but if it does...
  • Reply 15 of 166
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    iDon't have phones people want, so I'm going to spread misinformation and tease an unreleased 'iPhone Killar.' >.>
  • Reply 16 of 166
    So much for Verizon ever carrying the iPhone. A big bridge has been burnt.



    Some may cheer at the flames, but a potential (and major) alternative iPhone carrier has just disqualified itself.
  • Reply 17 of 166
    sdbryansdbryan Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frugality View Post


    They make some good criticisms.



    I find it funny that Apple is hurrah'd when they make fun of Microsoft or Dell, but then people poo-poo anyone who does the same to the almighty Apple. "You can dish it out but you can't take it" comes to mind.



    Snarky ad campaigns are no substitute for shipping real products. I'm not a big fan of the continuing "I'm a PC..." ads but there are actual products available for sale that correspond to the ads. I would just echo what others have said here: bring it on, please. Apple needs some actual competition in order to benefit the consumers. Relatively or completely content free campaigns like this and the laptop hunters ads don't provide technically accomplished products, just marketing to easily impressionable people.
  • Reply 18 of 166
    Whoa I thought fruggers was doing some nice satire there - apparently not. And er addabox, why does the 5 year contract really matter? The iPhone is just building itself out in the smartphone space - and shaken the rest of the smartphones out of lethargy and into some serious competition. After two and a half years, its just barely hitting stride - if you take it as simply a device. Take a look behind the device, think about what the device represents in terms of portable computing, stop thinking about it as simply a glorified cellphone and think about where Apple means to go. Verizon doesn't get it - they are blindered by their technology - and their ads reflect that. Who could have predicted the impact that personal computing would have back when everyone was thinking mainframe and "big iron" computers. Unless of course you are terminally myopic and can only think about your precious cellphones and internet devices. Look forward peeps, think outside the box a little.
  • Reply 19 of 166
    The point is how the companies are controlling how people buy products. Finally Congress is doing something about it, forcing the companies to make a universal plug to fit all phone and headsets. And, what you work for Apple or At&T? Why attack someone for pointing out this exclusive crap? What so companies can make more off everyone? Well the little good Congress does at least they are looking into ending this exclusive contracts.
  • Reply 20 of 166
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by masternav View Post


    Whoa I thought fruggers was doing some nice satire there - apparently not. And er addabox, why does the 5 year contract really matter? The iPhone is just building itself out in the smartphone space - and shaken the rest of the smartphones out of lethargy and into some serious competition. After two and a half years, its just barely hitting stride - if you take it as simply a device. Take a look behind the device, think about what the device represents in terms of portable computing, stop thinking about it as simply a glorified cellphone and think about where Apple means to go. Verizon doesn't get it - they are blindered by their technology - and their ads reflect that. Who could have predicted the impact that personal computing would have back when everyone was thinking mainframe and "big iron" computers. Unless of course you are terminally myopic and can only think about your precious cellphones and internet devices. Look forward peeps, think outside the box a little.



    Er, why would you be addressing any of that to me? Read those posts again.
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