Posted by Carla on July 22 at 10:10 AM
The new commercial for the LG Dare shows a young man climbing the fence of a junkyard in order to reach the phone, which is resting on a piece of scrap metal. Eyeing a pair of chained pit bulls sporting spiked choke collars; the man treads lightly until a misstep on the hood of a car rouses the sleeping dogs. Immediately the pit bulls are on their feet barking a vicious warning. The man makes a break for the phone and the dogs charge him and lunge, missing him by a hair as their heavy chains jerk them backward.
When Michael Vick, former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons was convicted last year on counts of dog fighting there was no lack of heated public discourse. The pit bull breed took center stage as a victim of cruelty, abuse and torture. The media and general public were outraged and disgusted.
While the commercial’s "Dare You To Touch One" message is conveyed, did Verizon make a wise choice choosing pit bulls to illustrate it? Regardless of personal opinions on the pit bull breed, or whether you are offended that Verizon perpetuated the breed's negative stereotype, the question remains.
Was this smart marketing?
On the heels of the Michael Vick story and the passionate opinions and debates it inspired, I think the concept was a poor choice. The fact that pit bulls were cast as gritty junkyard guardians versus other stereotypically aggressive breeds such as rottweilers or dobermans, makes it evident Verizon was oblivious to recent sensitivities and the current media landscape. Not being in touch with public opinion is scary. I'm sure Verizon's goal was to connect with consumers and engender positive feelings about the brand and the LG Dare phone, not anger current customers or alienate potential ones. Certainly this is not the kind of buzz the company anticipated.
I feel that this will blow over quickly. The DARE spots are all very dangerous. The one I've seen features a woman teetering on the edge of a building, hundreds of feet over city traffic, reaching for the phone. PS: thanks for that little type at the bottom of the screen that warns me "not to attempt this"... it saved me from potential injury.
Anyway, I digress. I really don't think this is a huge issue. The Dare won't sell less phones because trained publicly outcried pooches were made to froth at the mouth and nip at some guy's heels. And I don't think Verizon will get too much negative press from it either.
I applaud Verizon for embracing a new, edgier voice in the Dare commercials. It's quite the departure from the black framed glasses "can you hear me now? good!" guy and the dog-house nibbling dwarf pony.
Perhaps a stiff kick in a gentle spot was exactly what the doctor ordered. You need to be talked about to even pretend you're going to make it against the iPhone.
Maybe the pit bulls here are the metaphor for the iphone. Verizon has done a good job, as Justin points out, making the "Can you hear me now" about "The Network", and generally having everyone talk about them as the best carrier. Yet, the iphone change the landscape for AT&T. And now it isn't about dropped calls (lord knows it should be though! have you tried having more than a 5 minute conversation with me recently on my cell?) but about 3G, or at least about the coolness of the phone. Sadly, I'm still trying to get my iphone (I'm unwilling to wait in line, as I was told at the Apple store this week, "for about two hours"), but this Verizon spot is trying to replicate the "must have" feeling for the iphone. Does it work? I would be surprised. Bad time to change the campaign, better to keep to what works, and keep that clever. Keep the story on "The Network".
2 Comments so far...
I feel that this will blow over quickly. The DARE spots are all very dangerous. The one I've seen features a woman teetering on the edge of a building, hundreds of feet over city traffic, reaching for the phone. PS: thanks for that little type at the bottom of the screen that warns me "not to attempt this"... it saved me from potential injury.
Anyway, I digress. I really don't think this is a huge issue. The Dare won't sell less phones because trained publicly outcried pooches were made to froth at the mouth and nip at some guy's heels. And I don't think Verizon will get too much negative press from it either.
I applaud Verizon for embracing a new, edgier voice in the Dare commercials. It's quite the departure from the black framed glasses "can you hear me now? good!" guy and the dog-house nibbling dwarf pony.
Perhaps a stiff kick in a gentle spot was exactly what the doctor ordered. You need to be talked about to even pretend you're going to make it against the iPhone.
Posted by JR on July 23 at 9:49 AMMaybe the pit bulls here are the metaphor for the iphone. Verizon has done a good job, as Justin points out, making the "Can you hear me now" about "The Network", and generally having everyone talk about them as the best carrier. Yet, the iphone change the landscape for AT&T. And now it isn't about dropped calls (lord knows it should be though! have you tried having more than a 5 minute conversation with me recently on my cell?) but about 3G, or at least about the coolness of the phone. Sadly, I'm still trying to get my iphone (I'm unwilling to wait in line, as I was told at the Apple store this week, "for about two hours"), but this Verizon spot is trying to replicate the "must have" feeling for the iphone. Does it work? I would be surprised. Bad time to change the campaign, better to keep to what works, and keep that clever. Keep the story on "The Network".
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on July 24 at 7:39 AM