Well this is interesting. And smart.
Obviously, commercials that call-out rivals are nothing new. But a new commercial from T-Mobile that the company put on YouTube yesterday does it in an unconventional way.
Specifically, the commercial is for T-Mobile’s new myTouch 4G device. It’s an Android device that is an iPhone competitor. But rather than rip the iPhone directly, they instead rip the fact that the iPhone 4 is only available on AT&T’s sub-par network. And they do so by making a parody of Apple’s famous “I’m A Mac” commercials.
“Who’s your friend?,” the female myTouch 4G asks. “Oh, it’s the old AT&T network,” the iPhone 4 man replies. The iPhone 4 man is sharply dressed young guy — who happens to have an overweight, bald, lame businessman on his back. He sort of seems like he’s drunk too. Yeah, that would be AT&T.
In other words, T-Mobile is conceding that the iPhone 4 is an attractive device that is sexy to a lot of users. But they’re saying that you shouldn’t buy one because it comes handcuffed to a crappy network.
Of course, it’s looking like this ad will only be applicable for another few weeks. But, we’re now in the all-important holiday buying season. So the ad is a very smart play, even short term.
Or, to think of it another way, “T-Mobile is practically begging to carry the iPhone,” Daring Fireball’s John Gruber writes.