(english backtranslation of title: "PLDT & Smart Telecoms "I Myself" - i am suspiciousm you should, too)
we saw this ad very often during the pacquiao-hatton fight. impressive list of celebrities. this is next in WAWAM.
read more about it here: http://tinyurl.com/qguvpx
mount pinatubo erupts shooting ashes several kilometers high, then floating to blanket many other towns hundreds of kilometers away
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
vitwater revised pacquiao tv ad
vitwater did revise the pacquiao ad. they edited out the visual showing manny pacquiao laughing at himself that is has no audio-video lock as the voice over of manny was seriously talking about vitwater, saying vitwater is better than water, a key selling point for the brand.
they also took out two other shots of pacquaio talking to camera, in effect also reducing the number of times he said that dreaded phrase, "you know...." which makes pacquiao look like a joke and a caricature of what is wrong in pinoys talking in english. they replaced these visuals with pacquiao doing some boxing moves. they're lucky they have these shots in the can.
the "you know..." line seem to be a copy point for vitwater as the same line is in their billboard (scroll down, view pic of billboard). it does not make sense why they use it as a copy line when it makes pacquiao look bad.
those are really slight improvements, the same comments we gave are still there (scroll down, read post) and does not change this ad being a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome and all the other acronyms we are yet to invent in this blog.
we still can't get over the fact that this celebrity endorser ad made out its celebrity endorser intentionally look bad and a joke. it's directly the exact opposite of what companies want their celebrity to look - their best and most admirable persona. in this ad, they presented pacquiao, a world class champion fighter, admired by the world, a fighter with a place in all of boxing history and the hero of every pinoy as a trying hard fool of a pinoy who has the english speaking skills of a 5 year old just learning to speak in english.
----
published: may 16, 2009
the manny pacquiao vitwater tv ad is a 15-second edit down version of the original 30 second tv ad, it's not a revision. comments on the 15-second ad posted here stands.
we think this pacquiao vitwater ad continue to make pacquaio look bad, although in degrees, it is not as bad as the 30 second version. the ad, however, continue to be too plain to the point of being boring. the key weakness of the ad is it is too simplistic and starkly one-dimensional and failed to leverage any of the very rich characteristics and points of admiration of the celebrity they use in this ad. this weakness is much even more obvious in this edit down version.
they also took out two other shots of pacquaio talking to camera, in effect also reducing the number of times he said that dreaded phrase, "you know...." which makes pacquiao look like a joke and a caricature of what is wrong in pinoys talking in english. they replaced these visuals with pacquiao doing some boxing moves. they're lucky they have these shots in the can.
the "you know..." line seem to be a copy point for vitwater as the same line is in their billboard (scroll down, view pic of billboard). it does not make sense why they use it as a copy line when it makes pacquiao look bad.
those are really slight improvements, the same comments we gave are still there (scroll down, read post) and does not change this ad being a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome and all the other acronyms we are yet to invent in this blog.
we still can't get over the fact that this celebrity endorser ad made out its celebrity endorser intentionally look bad and a joke. it's directly the exact opposite of what companies want their celebrity to look - their best and most admirable persona. in this ad, they presented pacquiao, a world class champion fighter, admired by the world, a fighter with a place in all of boxing history and the hero of every pinoy as a trying hard fool of a pinoy who has the english speaking skills of a 5 year old just learning to speak in english.
----
published: may 16, 2009
the manny pacquiao vitwater tv ad is a 15-second edit down version of the original 30 second tv ad, it's not a revision. comments on the 15-second ad posted here stands.
we think this pacquiao vitwater ad continue to make pacquaio look bad, although in degrees, it is not as bad as the 30 second version. the ad, however, continue to be too plain to the point of being boring. the key weakness of the ad is it is too simplistic and starkly one-dimensional and failed to leverage any of the very rich characteristics and points of admiration of the celebrity they use in this ad. this weakness is much even more obvious in this edit down version.
Monday, May 4, 2009
the offensive nike ad of pacquiao in prayer/Christ crucifixion and the real pacquiao in prayer visual
in early december of last year, for the pacquiao-de la hoya fight, we talked about the nike ad that we found offensive to the catholic faith (read here: http://tinyurl.com/c6mnpn).
the key point we raised was that the nike ad simulated pacquiao on the cross with his arms raised while kneeling in front of the corner of the boxing ring. the post was much larger than the real thing that made it look like a cross.
one of the things we said that made the reference to the crucifixion of Christ was that the arms were raised to the ropes and that is not the natural position for prayer. the fact that this ad showed manny raising his arms makes it an obvious depiction of the the crucifixion of Christ.
this is the ad:
in yesterday's pacquioa-hatton fight, we were able to finally get a picture of pacquiao in prayer at his corner which very clearly proves our point.
the key point we raised was that the nike ad simulated pacquiao on the cross with his arms raised while kneeling in front of the corner of the boxing ring. the post was much larger than the real thing that made it look like a cross.
one of the things we said that made the reference to the crucifixion of Christ was that the arms were raised to the ropes and that is not the natural position for prayer. the fact that this ad showed manny raising his arms makes it an obvious depiction of the the crucifixion of Christ.
this is the ad:
in yesterday's pacquioa-hatton fight, we were able to finally get a picture of pacquiao in prayer at his corner which very clearly proves our point.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
did vitwater revise their manny pacquiao tv ad?
someone sent me a text saying the manny pacquiao vitwater tv ad has been revised - they edited out the manny laughing at himself shot and reduced the "you know...." copy line mentions to just two from the previous 4 mentions. the revised ads were shown during the pacquaio-hatton fight.
i watched the fight but i tuned off and did not watch it everytime the vitwater tv ad was shown and that's the reason why i didn't know if they did or did not revise the ad. i just could not stand to watch that ad on tv.
anyone else notice anything new in that ad?
and we are now wondering - did RFM, makers of vitwater and/or Aspac/Law, vitwater's ad agency read this blog?
i watched the fight but i tuned off and did not watch it everytime the vitwater tv ad was shown and that's the reason why i didn't know if they did or did not revise the ad. i just could not stand to watch that ad on tv.
anyone else notice anything new in that ad?
and we are now wondering - did RFM, makers of vitwater and/or Aspac/Law, vitwater's ad agency read this blog?
Friday, May 1, 2009
you know, manny pacquiao is a loser!
i don't get this tv ad of manny pacquiao. i just didn't shake my head when i first saw this ad, i shook it many times and every time i see the ad on tv. i also end up talking to myself, why the hell did they make this ad this way. and at the end of the 30s ad, i get my cellphone out and my ipod touch and key in a to-do note for myself : "DO NOT BUY VITWATER!". i don't use caps even in my cellphone, i use caps on this one. ooops, i had entered that already the last time i saw the ad. geez, i must have tried to key that in to my gadgets a hundred times already, the same number of times i had seen this ad.
yes! this ad is being aired at very heavy weight! the pacquiao - hutton fight is a few days from now, they are making the most of torturing me! this vitwater ad is one more strong reason why i don't watch local shows on tv!
i usually say this at the end of the discussion. but for this one i like to say it on the 3rd paragraph - this manny pacquiao ad of vitwater is a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome! and all other acronyms i am yet to invent in this blog!
whew! we will take this slow now...
water with vitamins which is what vitwater is a product for the AB upper C target market. the mass market, broad C and the DE will not bother with this product. the price will keep the mass market away from this product. to expect the mass market even as an intentional occasional user is water under the bridge of marketing possibilities.
the AB and upper C target market know pacquaio, most likely 100% of them. some of them even pay P600.00 for pay per view venues, have cable in their homes and most watches his fights. there is no question that pacquiao has an appeal to the target market.
it is also VERY safe to assume the AB upper C target market is an english speaking target market. here's the part i don't get and the major reason i want to get my cellphone and touch to key in "DO NOT BUY VITWATER" all over again - why in the world did they make pacquiao speak in english?!!!
what the f_ck is that?
pacquiao is obviously not a an english language speaker. let me say it first, i don't take that against him, i take it against vitwater for making pacquaio speak in english! the accent drives me crazy. this ad does not make pacquiao endearing to its target market. it makes pacquiao a joke, a caricature to make fun of. in this ad, vitwater rapes pacquiao of his hero status among filipinos.
what gets me here is that vitwater and the ad agency knew what they were making pacquiao do and what they were turning him in to. everybody knows pacquiao sounds funny when he talks in english. he sounds a little funny when he talks in filipino as he has a mindanao accent but that is not a turn off. in fact his mindanao accent makes it endearing. he is a man from mindanao from humble beginnings doing well for himself and his country, having this mindanao accent to his pilipino is a good thing. but having an accent when he speaks in english in a tv ad makes him a joke. all of that vitwater and the ad agency must have known.
the AB upper C target market do understand pilipino well. there is no reason for vitwater not to make him speak in pilipino. it could have been as understandable as english but with the added benefit of making manny look real and yes endearing.
the copy or script of this ad to me is a mystery. who wrote the script? the copy is so sparse, lacks a sale and sounds very amateurish. how could an ad agency write copy like this and how can they have presented copy like that to the client?
the other half of the mystery - was this a scriptless tv ad? like they just asked manny to say whatever he wanted and they just rolled the camera? manny is a champion fighter, not a copywriter, surely they cannot expect manny to come up with gems in copy?
the copy is just too one-dimensional and too shallow. this vitamins in water product is pioneering. it's a new product concept that has a lot of potential for a compelling story that can be matched with a hero who also has a multi-dimensional persona around him. a new product and pioneering product concept plus pacquiao could have been a match made in heaven, but vitwater did not cease the day. the ad does not at all feel like its introducing a pioneering product.
and we have not yet mentioned the fact that it is really bad english. the english used in this ad, and we assume this was written by the ad agency is english of a 5 year old who is just learning to speak it - stocatto, few words, few thoughts, few vocabulary and bad construction.
there are many other things that went wrong in this ad. but the biggest among the small things is a directorial and editorial snafu. at frame 0:06 as pacquaio on voice over was saying "...but for me, there is something better, you know", the commercial cuts to pacquiao looking at someone off camera then goes into a laugh. the scene before and after the pacquiao on a laugh scene showed pacquiao in a serious mood, not to mention the background music had the same serious atmosphere and tone.
in audio, manny was delivering a key selling point for the product - vitwater is better than just water, a serious thing and yet the visual showed manny laughing like he was laughing at the line, losing all credibility and believability.
that is just the tip of the failure of this ad. the biggest error of this ad is the use of english for manny's speaking lines and the one-dimensional, shallow and zero sale in the copy. the bigger error is that this ad has completely mis-read its target market, the AB upper C. we love manny, but we learned to hate vitwater. (note to self: key in entry into cellphone and touch "DO NOT BUY VITWATER").
i feel bad for pacquiao. i don't think any of this is pacquiao's fault. the ad agency and vitwater made pacquiao, our hero, look really bad.
okay, okay, before we end - i know that you know and that you want to know what i know. i know you have been waiting for me to mention it --- manny said "you know..." a total of 4 times in the 30 second ad. that means there were 4 irritants in that ad, you know?
this is a WAWAM!, has ADS Sindrome and all the other acronyms i am yet to think of in the future.
view the vitwater tv spot here: http://tinyurl.com/c7tzcp or scroll down.
yes! this ad is being aired at very heavy weight! the pacquiao - hutton fight is a few days from now, they are making the most of torturing me! this vitwater ad is one more strong reason why i don't watch local shows on tv!
i usually say this at the end of the discussion. but for this one i like to say it on the 3rd paragraph - this manny pacquiao ad of vitwater is a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome! and all other acronyms i am yet to invent in this blog!
whew! we will take this slow now...
water with vitamins which is what vitwater is a product for the AB upper C target market. the mass market, broad C and the DE will not bother with this product. the price will keep the mass market away from this product. to expect the mass market even as an intentional occasional user is water under the bridge of marketing possibilities.
the AB and upper C target market know pacquaio, most likely 100% of them. some of them even pay P600.00 for pay per view venues, have cable in their homes and most watches his fights. there is no question that pacquiao has an appeal to the target market.
it is also VERY safe to assume the AB upper C target market is an english speaking target market. here's the part i don't get and the major reason i want to get my cellphone and touch to key in "DO NOT BUY VITWATER" all over again - why in the world did they make pacquiao speak in english?!!!
what the f_ck is that?
pacquiao is obviously not a an english language speaker. let me say it first, i don't take that against him, i take it against vitwater for making pacquaio speak in english! the accent drives me crazy. this ad does not make pacquiao endearing to its target market. it makes pacquiao a joke, a caricature to make fun of. in this ad, vitwater rapes pacquiao of his hero status among filipinos.
what gets me here is that vitwater and the ad agency knew what they were making pacquiao do and what they were turning him in to. everybody knows pacquiao sounds funny when he talks in english. he sounds a little funny when he talks in filipino as he has a mindanao accent but that is not a turn off. in fact his mindanao accent makes it endearing. he is a man from mindanao from humble beginnings doing well for himself and his country, having this mindanao accent to his pilipino is a good thing. but having an accent when he speaks in english in a tv ad makes him a joke. all of that vitwater and the ad agency must have known.
the AB upper C target market do understand pilipino well. there is no reason for vitwater not to make him speak in pilipino. it could have been as understandable as english but with the added benefit of making manny look real and yes endearing.
the copy or script of this ad to me is a mystery. who wrote the script? the copy is so sparse, lacks a sale and sounds very amateurish. how could an ad agency write copy like this and how can they have presented copy like that to the client?
the other half of the mystery - was this a scriptless tv ad? like they just asked manny to say whatever he wanted and they just rolled the camera? manny is a champion fighter, not a copywriter, surely they cannot expect manny to come up with gems in copy?
the copy is just too one-dimensional and too shallow. this vitamins in water product is pioneering. it's a new product concept that has a lot of potential for a compelling story that can be matched with a hero who also has a multi-dimensional persona around him. a new product and pioneering product concept plus pacquiao could have been a match made in heaven, but vitwater did not cease the day. the ad does not at all feel like its introducing a pioneering product.
and we have not yet mentioned the fact that it is really bad english. the english used in this ad, and we assume this was written by the ad agency is english of a 5 year old who is just learning to speak it - stocatto, few words, few thoughts, few vocabulary and bad construction.
there are many other things that went wrong in this ad. but the biggest among the small things is a directorial and editorial snafu. at frame 0:06 as pacquaio on voice over was saying "...but for me, there is something better, you know", the commercial cuts to pacquiao looking at someone off camera then goes into a laugh. the scene before and after the pacquiao on a laugh scene showed pacquiao in a serious mood, not to mention the background music had the same serious atmosphere and tone.
in audio, manny was delivering a key selling point for the product - vitwater is better than just water, a serious thing and yet the visual showed manny laughing like he was laughing at the line, losing all credibility and believability.
that is just the tip of the failure of this ad. the biggest error of this ad is the use of english for manny's speaking lines and the one-dimensional, shallow and zero sale in the copy. the bigger error is that this ad has completely mis-read its target market, the AB upper C. we love manny, but we learned to hate vitwater. (note to self: key in entry into cellphone and touch "DO NOT BUY VITWATER").
i feel bad for pacquiao. i don't think any of this is pacquiao's fault. the ad agency and vitwater made pacquiao, our hero, look really bad.
okay, okay, before we end - i know that you know and that you want to know what i know. i know you have been waiting for me to mention it --- manny said "you know..." a total of 4 times in the 30 second ad. that means there were 4 irritants in that ad, you know?
this is a WAWAM!, has ADS Sindrome and all the other acronyms i am yet to think of in the future.
view the vitwater tv spot here: http://tinyurl.com/c7tzcp or scroll down.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
why put manny pacquiao in a bad light? a caricature of pinoy weakness?
in ads, a lot of effort is put into making the talents, most specially celebrities to look in the best possible light. ad agencies hire professional make up artists, costume designers and the best cameramen to make sure the talents look good on screen. directors are very particular to make sure that aside from making sure the storyboard is delivered, the talent should also look good. some celebrities even make it part of the their contract that their preferred make-up artist are hired for tv ads they appear in.
clients choose talents in their ads, specially celebrities, because they bring something good to the ad and the product. use a well loved celebrity and they expect sales to go up.
so why did vitwater make manny pacquiao look bad in their ad?
shell philippines' 24/7 consumer promo program
well, yes we gas up at shell. and we noticed that shell runs back-to-back consumer promotions. that is strange.
the marketing idea behind consumer promotions is to pump up volume sales and market share over non-promoted months. consumer promos will either get new users to try the product and/or get current users to increase their purchase. getting a bump on those hopefully will enable to retain and convert new users into regular users and build loyalty among current users.
what is the point then of conducting consumer promotions 24/7?
first, how do you assess the success of the promos you conduct? all months are promoted, there is no way to determine one promo was able or unable to push up sales and market share.
the marketing expense will be extremely high. consumer promotions are expensive to conduct. having a consumer promotion 24/7 means the product margins will be lower.
instead of conducting consumer promos 24/7, i would instead take that marketing expense and lower down the gas prices of their products. oil products as anyone know is very price sensitive. consumers actually know exactly how much they paid for it the last time they filled up their vehicles with gas. lowering the price of gasoline we think is the most effective way to lure in new users and increase purchase of regular users.
shell and the other big 2 oil companies, petron and caltex are in direct competition with smaller oil retailers. the small oil retailers are always able to under-cut the big 3's pricing. the big 3 know that if their gas station is beside or near any one of the small oil retailers, they will need to keep their prices as low as possible as they know not doing that will mean consumers will move to the small players.
moving the consumer promo expense to lowering the retail price of their products will allow shell to better compete with these small retailers. but i will do a little more than just lowering the gas prices, i will do something more creative and more attention grabbing than just doing a universal price decrease. i would treat the price reduction like a consumer promotion but will be creative in implementing it so that it gets the most attention and surge they need.
what can these creative ways be? that is next here in WAWAM!
the marketing idea behind consumer promotions is to pump up volume sales and market share over non-promoted months. consumer promos will either get new users to try the product and/or get current users to increase their purchase. getting a bump on those hopefully will enable to retain and convert new users into regular users and build loyalty among current users.
what is the point then of conducting consumer promotions 24/7?
first, how do you assess the success of the promos you conduct? all months are promoted, there is no way to determine one promo was able or unable to push up sales and market share.
the marketing expense will be extremely high. consumer promotions are expensive to conduct. having a consumer promotion 24/7 means the product margins will be lower.
instead of conducting consumer promos 24/7, i would instead take that marketing expense and lower down the gas prices of their products. oil products as anyone know is very price sensitive. consumers actually know exactly how much they paid for it the last time they filled up their vehicles with gas. lowering the price of gasoline we think is the most effective way to lure in new users and increase purchase of regular users.
shell and the other big 2 oil companies, petron and caltex are in direct competition with smaller oil retailers. the small oil retailers are always able to under-cut the big 3's pricing. the big 3 know that if their gas station is beside or near any one of the small oil retailers, they will need to keep their prices as low as possible as they know not doing that will mean consumers will move to the small players.
moving the consumer promo expense to lowering the retail price of their products will allow shell to better compete with these small retailers. but i will do a little more than just lowering the gas prices, i will do something more creative and more attention grabbing than just doing a universal price decrease. i would treat the price reduction like a consumer promotion but will be creative in implementing it so that it gets the most attention and surge they need.
what can these creative ways be? that is next here in WAWAM!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
apple releases 4 new "get a mac" tv ads
Apple "Get a Mac" ad: Biohazard Suit
This ad features PC in a Biohazard suit, and he explains that he is wearing it because PC viruses and malware have tippled in the last year, with estimates that 20,000 new ones discovered every day.
Legal Copy
In this ad, PC begins talking about the benefits of using a PC and as he talks the bottom of the (and eventually entire) screen fill up with the traditional small print legal info like what you may be use to seeing on a car or product ad. While the text isn't easy to read on a computer (PC or Mac) MacJournals was able to use a HD TV and has a copy of the entire small print available. It is worth pointing out that several items mentioned in the fine print, also apply to Apple computers.
Time Traveler
The next ad has PC in 2009 stepping into a time machine and headed for the year 2150 to see if the issues with a PC are ever resolved and if it becomes as stable as a Mac. When PC arrives in the future and begins to ask future PC questions, future PC freezes up.
Stacks
The fourth ad has PC going through thousands of photos looking for pictures of a friend and asks "what other way is there to do it". Mac responds talking about the facial recognition features available in iLife (iPhoto) which Mac adds in is included for free on every new Mac.
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/10517-apple-releases-new-get-a-mac-ads/
Thursday, April 23, 2009
iphone 3g: AT&T's success with it and globe's failure at it
we had written extensively in this blog about globe's iphone 3G launch in the philippines. our view was that their launch strategy for the iphone 3G was a blunder, mostly on the the over-pricing strategy they adapted for the iphone 3G. globe over-priced the iphone 3G, in fact they initially wanted to sell it at a higher price than what they eventually sold it.
globe did not adapt the pricing strategy of AT&T in the US where they decided to take a hit on profits trading that off for higher unit sales and higher market share. we said then that globe's pricing strategy may have generated for them high margins but it lost them the opportunity for higher unit sales which could very well have recovered the lower margin per unit they had to take. more importantly, globe lost the opportunity to take market leadership away from smart telecoms.
we said that that it was our view that at the right price point, the iphone 3G will propel globe into market leadership.
looking now at the AT&T launch in the US for the iphone 3G, we think our views then were correct. AT&T sold 17 million of iphone 3G units since launch and has increased their subscriber base and market share. AT&T officials confirm the iphone 3G has been a success for them. it had been so successful that AT&T has been reported to be negotiation with apple to extend their exclusivity contract of being the lone seller of the iphone 3G beyond the contract up to 2011.
that is the kind of market share power that globe missed when they priced the iphone 3G at a ridiculously high level, the opposite strategy AT&T took. globe has been 2nd for such a long time, they should have taken this once in a lifetime opportunity to take leadership from smart telecoms.
read posts on globe's iphone launch here: http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/globe
globe did not adapt the pricing strategy of AT&T in the US where they decided to take a hit on profits trading that off for higher unit sales and higher market share. we said then that globe's pricing strategy may have generated for them high margins but it lost them the opportunity for higher unit sales which could very well have recovered the lower margin per unit they had to take. more importantly, globe lost the opportunity to take market leadership away from smart telecoms.
we said that that it was our view that at the right price point, the iphone 3G will propel globe into market leadership.
looking now at the AT&T launch in the US for the iphone 3G, we think our views then were correct. AT&T sold 17 million of iphone 3G units since launch and has increased their subscriber base and market share. AT&T officials confirm the iphone 3G has been a success for them. it had been so successful that AT&T has been reported to be negotiation with apple to extend their exclusivity contract of being the lone seller of the iphone 3G beyond the contract up to 2011.
that is the kind of market share power that globe missed when they priced the iphone 3G at a ridiculously high level, the opposite strategy AT&T took. globe has been 2nd for such a long time, they should have taken this once in a lifetime opportunity to take leadership from smart telecoms.
AT&T To Apple : Come On, What's Two More Years?
AT&T just won't let go.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal AT&T is pushing Apple to continue the carrier's exclusive rights for the now-iconic iPhone for two more years.
Quoting unnamed sources, the Journal wrote that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is looking to continue AT&T's iPhone exclusivity through 2011. The pair's existing relationship is set to expire this year. AT&T has been the iPhone's exclusive carrier in the U.S. since the 2007 launch of the first-generation iPhone and continued through with the Apple iPhone 3G that was released in 2008.
Apple has been tight-lipped about its future iPhone carrier plans, telling the Journal "we have a great relationship with AT&T."
The iPhone has been a cash cow for AT&T since its 2007 launch—it is estimated that roughly 17 million iPhones have been sold in just two years. In the second half of 2008, AT&T added 4.3 million iPhone subscribers, 40 percent of whom were new customers for AT&T.
read in full here: http://www.crn.com/mobile/216500793;jsessionid=RY0YPPZLBWMZOQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN
AT&T: iPhone Boosting Wireless Margins
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 4/23/2009 7:27:00 AM
Dallas — AT&T said it activated 1.6 million iPhone 3G devices in the first quarter, up anywhere from 50 percent to 60 percent compared to year-ago activations of 1 million to 1.1 million estimated by the Yankee Group.
“It’s a real win for them,” said Yankee director Carl Howe. The number of activations is “surprising” for a “fairly premium priced product” during the economic downturn, he said.
“It’s still a terrifically selling product for AT&T,” he added, even though the number of activations is down from 1.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2008 and down from 2.4 million during 2008’s third quarter, when sales soared because of the launch of the subsidized 3G version of the iPhone. “You should expect seasonality,” he said.
In the third and fourth quarters of 2008, year-over-year iPhone activations were up 114 percent and 110 percent, respectively. Precise comparisons between first-quarter 2009 and 2008 iPhone activations can’t be made because AT&T hasn’t disclosed the number of iPhone activations during 2008’s first half.
Said AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson, “I am particularly pleased with the success of our iPhone 3G initiative, which has driven strong high-end customer growth and delivered financial benefits ahead of our original outlook.”
The company’s iPhone strategy, combined with operation improvements and reduced churn rates, produced a sequential gain in AT&T’s first-quarter wireless service margins, before amortization and depreciation, the company said.
The margin gain, the company said, in part reflects the higher revenues generated by iPhone subscribers, who spend around 1.6 times more than other postpaid-service subscribers because of their data usage. iPhone users also churn less frequently than other postpaid-service subscribers, AT&T said.
In other iPhone-related financial statistics, AT&T said more than 40 percent of the iPhones activated in the first quarter, or about 640,000, were sold to people new to the AT&T wireless network. As a result, iPhone purchasers accounted for about 73 percent of the 875,000 net new postpaid subscriber additions in the quarter. Total net additions, comprising prepaid and postpaid service, hit 1.2 million to bring the carrier’s subscriber base to 78.2 million.
read in full here: http://www.twice.com/article/CA6653635.html
read posts on globe's iphone launch here: http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/search/label/globe
Saturday, April 18, 2009
burger king's paris hilton spicy bbq burger tv ad - really hot but for all the wrong reasons
i'm struggling here, don't know what to call this ad is it a WAWAM!, one that has ADS Sindrome?
that is also the problem of this ad. is this ad a car ad? i was desperately waiting for the ad to show the brand name of the ad, peering through the legs of paris hilton trying to get glimpse of the insignia of the car on the hood or the grill of the car.
is this an ad for a car wash soap? those suds are big and abundant and they slide ever so slowly..... on the most important body parts..... of the car, great to clean the car.
or maybe the sponge? that sponge looked real fluffy, soft and oh so unyielding. press and squeeze and responds back to you, a tactile celebration of what is good and oh so awesome in a sponge.
then it occurred to me - this must be the latest paris hilton sex home made video. you know, the type that was taken by an ex-boyfriend that was kept inside that storage space rental that went unpaid, forcing the owners to sell the contents. didn't realize paris had long legs and fully formed with muscles on the best parts of her body. and those poses that hid the best parts of her body but telling us there is more to come under it. we were waiting for it to be shown.
but that did not happen. at the end, it's an ad for burger king's spicy bbq burger.
what the fuck was that?
on my first question - i got it figured out, this ad is both a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome. that's hot! not!
that is also the problem of this ad. is this ad a car ad? i was desperately waiting for the ad to show the brand name of the ad, peering through the legs of paris hilton trying to get glimpse of the insignia of the car on the hood or the grill of the car.
is this an ad for a car wash soap? those suds are big and abundant and they slide ever so slowly..... on the most important body parts..... of the car, great to clean the car.
or maybe the sponge? that sponge looked real fluffy, soft and oh so unyielding. press and squeeze and responds back to you, a tactile celebration of what is good and oh so awesome in a sponge.
then it occurred to me - this must be the latest paris hilton sex home made video. you know, the type that was taken by an ex-boyfriend that was kept inside that storage space rental that went unpaid, forcing the owners to sell the contents. didn't realize paris had long legs and fully formed with muscles on the best parts of her body. and those poses that hid the best parts of her body but telling us there is more to come under it. we were waiting for it to be shown.
but that did not happen. at the end, it's an ad for burger king's spicy bbq burger.
what the fuck was that?
on my first question - i got it figured out, this ad is both a WAWAM! and has ADS Sindrome. that's hot! not!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
whisper sanitary pad's eww image that won't go away
is there a woman out there who would do what kim chiu did to her bf - ride on the shoulder of a man when you have your menstruation and wearing a pad?
this ad says whisper sanitary pad is so good that the bf's shoulders will not have a menstrual stain after moving up and down on his shoulder. and the bf will not smell mesnstrual odor even if his nose is just a few inches away.
really?
Friday, April 10, 2009
3rd microsoft "laptop hunters" - lisa and jackson for $1500
Laptop Hunters $1500 – Lisa and Jackson get a Sony VAIO with just $1500 to spend, Lisa and Jackson find their perfect laptop – a Sony VAIO FW with Blu-ray and a big screen.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
whisper sanitary pad's ewwww tv ad with kim chiu & gerard anderson
isper is a sanitary napkin that likes to talk superiority on their dryness claim. it was launched in the philippine market on the basis of claiming it's the sanitary pad that offers dryness. to consumers, that means the pad will not fail and will hold all the wetness the woman has even on heavy days when she is having her menstruation.
i bet they used the word "torture test" a lot in describing this ad when they developed it. that means subjecting the product in torture test situations and coming out as the winner, showing the ability to deliver the promise.
in this case, the promise is dryness even in a torture test situation of the woman who has menstruation agrees to saddle back her man, riding on the shoulders of her man, putting that part of her body where she puts the sanitary pad on.
the torture test situation puts that body part of hers where she wears the sanitary pad in actual physical contact on the guy's neck, being pressed and pushed and within a few inches of the man's nose. apparently, that body part of the woman where the sanitary pad is placed not only leaks but also smells.
kim chiu, a teen popular actress is so confident whisper sanitary pad will succeed in this torture test that gerard anderson another popular teen actor will not smell and will not see menstrual blood on his neck.
WTF was that????? its ewww, double ewww and triple ewww!
i don't think there is a filipina alive today who will EVER, EVER agree to do something like that in real life when she has her period. there is no way a woman will ever do that. even if she uses a dozen whisper sanitary pads on that body part of hers.
this whisper ad is over the edge of sanity and stupidity. i think it succeeds on the torture test idea only in the minds of the ad agency that created it. it fails on believability, empathy and definitely wins on the ewww and ewww factor.
this is a WAWAM!
i bet they used the word "torture test" a lot in describing this ad when they developed it. that means subjecting the product in torture test situations and coming out as the winner, showing the ability to deliver the promise.
in this case, the promise is dryness even in a torture test situation of the woman who has menstruation agrees to saddle back her man, riding on the shoulders of her man, putting that part of her body where she puts the sanitary pad on.
the torture test situation puts that body part of hers where she wears the sanitary pad in actual physical contact on the guy's neck, being pressed and pushed and within a few inches of the man's nose. apparently, that body part of the woman where the sanitary pad is placed not only leaks but also smells.
kim chiu, a teen popular actress is so confident whisper sanitary pad will succeed in this torture test that gerard anderson another popular teen actor will not smell and will not see menstrual blood on his neck.
WTF was that????? its ewww, double ewww and triple ewww!
i don't think there is a filipina alive today who will EVER, EVER agree to do something like that in real life when she has her period. there is no way a woman will ever do that. even if she uses a dozen whisper sanitary pads on that body part of hers.
this whisper ad is over the edge of sanity and stupidity. i think it succeeds on the torture test idea only in the minds of the ad agency that created it. it fails on believability, empathy and definitely wins on the ewww and ewww factor.
this is a WAWAM!
Friday, March 27, 2009
new microsoft tv ads - microsoft concedes it ain't cool but its cheap
can't find the actual ad on youtube yet, but here is the write up on microsoft's new tv ads. based on the article, the new microsoft ad continue to copy the apple/mac ad line and ad campaign of "i'm a pc" which microsoft already used in their 2nd round ad cammpaign after the failed gates/seinfeld ad campaign.
the ad positions the microsoft/windows/pc as a cheap in price brand, a value brand. it's a good message to put across given the recession that's eroding the US economy and as more US consumers get hit by it. it's also a good strategy given the fact that macs continue to be at a premium pricing. the cheap brand positioning separates microsoft/windows/pc from macs.
good value positioning can be relevant in times of economic hardships. we just don't know if good value positioning works well on computers. good value positioning may work well for food products, but it might not work for high priced lifestyle products like computers.
the part that is unusual is that the ad concedes microsoft/windows/pc is not a cool brand/product. the ad is about real people (not talents) who were asked to buy computers (read details on article) and that was the conclusion of the woman in the ad who went into an apple store but was unable to find a mac that fit her budget and her needs. in one of the ads, a woman leaves an apple store unable to buy a mac and says: "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person."
a brand not being cool may be the truth for some brands (like microsoft/windows/pc?) but its not necessary to admit that in the advertising. to admit outright a computer brand (or any product) is not cool may mean the death of that brand. people who buy computers will hardly admit they are not cool. in fact people who own computers think they are cool given the fact that they own a computer. being cool is part and parcel of buying a computer, it's a key mindset.
the basic idea behind advertising is you put your best foot forward for consumers to admire and appreciate the brand and from there you get them to buy the brand. positive motivation from the product quality and performance is what works best in advertising. you intentionally leave out the negatives or weaknesses of your brand. weaknesses are exposed by competitors, is what apple did to windows vista in their "i'm a mac" ad campaign. this one does not hide it at all, it declared the brand's weakness.
it's a weird thing to do for an ad.
the other school of thought, which microsoft's ad agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, seem to like to do (this ad agency has done this before for other clients) is to admit the fault or weakness of the brand outright and get the consumers to decide if they can get over the negative and buy the product just the same.
so now we have microsoft/windows/pcs saying they are cheap and they are not cool. it's a brand character that is neither here nor there. in fact, it can be seen as negative or unlikeable brand character.
at minimum, that kind of positioning can be polarizing - some people will love it but some people will hate it. it's always risky to release an ad that has the potential to polarize your target audience. the thinking is you release the best ad you can make and that usually entails you are 100% the ad is perfect and will be loved by your target audieence. the risk you take in releasing polarizing ads is that the negative might eventually overpower the negative and you end up more people disliking the ad and brand being advertised than liking it.
the other weakness of this ad is the continuing use of the "I'm a PC" line microsoft copied from the apple/mac ads. we have not seen the tv ad but it appears that is the case based on this article.
microsoft should have just developed their own, unique advertising line. it does not serve the microsoft brand well if they keep reminding people it is copying something from apple in their own tv ads. those apple ads where microsoft copied were the ads that hurt the windows brand badly and has caused it's deterioration in stature. why remind the people of it further?
what is the point of reminding people tiny apple was able to beat giant microsoft in the advertising war? what? further increase windows users inferiority complex?
----
I'm a PC, and this time Microsoft's buying
By Jessica Mintz, Associated Press
SEATTLE — Apple's Macintosh computers may be cool, but Windows PCs are easier on the wallet.
That's the recession-sensitive message Microsoft is pushing in a new series of commercials that debuted Thursday. The ads also continue Microsoft's work to reclaim the "I'm a PC" catchphrase from Apple Inc. and undo the stodgy image its competitor has bestowed on the Windows operating system.
To shoot the ads, Microsoft's agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, recruited unwitting subjects by posing as a market research firm studying laptop purchasing decisions.
It picked 10 people who answered a call for volunteers on Craigslist and other websites and sent them out with a camera crew and budgets ranging from $700 to $2,000. If they found a computer that fit their criteria, they could keep it.
In the first 60-second spot, a red-haired recent college grad named Lauren is on the hunt for a speedy laptop with a 17-inch screen and a "comfortable" keyboard, all for less than $1,000. She strides into an Apple store; then, the scene jumps to her walking out empty-handed, telling the camera that the only laptop in her price range has a 13-inch screen.
Back in the car, she sighs and says, "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person."
read in full here: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2009-03-26-microsoft-ad_N.htm?csp=usat.me
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