Verizon’s Dubious Marketing Campaign

It seems Verizon’s latest commercial is getting a lot of people talking. No, it’s not the Droid 2 one where the guy’s arms morph into machine. No, I’m not talking about the guy that slacks off work to watch a movie, either. The commercial I’m talking about is part of Verizon’s new Rule the Air campaign. Have a look.

 

Personally, I see this ad as being incredibly superficial and pandering to the stereotypical belief that women as a whole are motivated by their emotions.  To me, this commercial is saying “Who cares what our coverage or prices, or even product selections are like? If you come to Verizon, we will respect and encourage your minority voice.” Please. It’s a cell phone company, not an empowerment workshop.

Speaking of empowering and encouraging minority voices, Verizon’s leadership team consists of 11 white guys, 1 white woman, and 1 man of Indian descent. Actions speak louder than words, Verizon.

Some people, such as TechCrunch’s Alexis Tsotsis, are downright angry over this particular campaign:

So you’re not prejudiced against our opinions, but you’re totally cool with discriminating against our wireless data packets?

Also, you’re selling cellphone coverage, not tampons. Guess what? I, and I’m assuming other women, care about “facts” like pricing plans, and signal strength and yes, whether or not you’ll have iPhone availability in January.

On a related note: Never ever ever use the word infectious in conjunction with something you’re trying to sell to women. Ever.

I do realize this is marketing we’re talking about, and advertising almost always has an air of fantasy to it, but the last line in the commercial is lead the army that will follow. An army of what exactly? Emotional women brandishing cellphones?

I’ve said this before, and in light of the above commercial, it definitely bears repeating. If you have a product that can be used by everyone, it makes no sense to market that product to only half the population.  With the women-only rule the air spot, not only have you just alienated the male population, but women who find the message trite as well.

I admit I’m not an expert in marketing, but is it really so bad to focus on the actual features and benefits? What do you guys think?

Source: TechCruch