First, the television commercial.
I love the part at the end where the iPhone user mimics the Samsung user: “Why don’t you get a 4G phone?
As loyal readers know, I’m a Mac user, 100%.
I have an iPhone.
How old is it? It doesn’t even have a video camera.
After a few years of use, the Button That Apparently Has No Name (circled in red) has started to stick, making it increasingly difficult to switch between applications.
(Sigh) That means it’s time to get a new phone.
I saw that commercial on YouTube. (I assume that somewhere it’s airing on television.)
Two days later I was walking along Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, when I passed an AT&T store. AT&T is the service provider for my current cell phone plan.
On an impulse, I went inside to see what the latest iPhone looks like, costs, etc.
The AT&T salesperson gave me a big pitch for the Samsung. Told me about the iPhone’s weak battery life. Plus its inability to access 4G networks.
No, I didn’t buy a Samsung. But I left the shop wondering if the iPhone still was the best choice for me.
I continued my stroll to the Santa Monica Promenade, and what did I encounter? An Apple Store.
I went inside, looked at the iPhones, and grilled the Apple salesperson about the phone’s battery and lack of 4G access.
I learned that the AT&T guy had omitted some key elements of the Apple vs. Samsung story.
I plan to stick with the iPhone. But it was that TV commercial that led me even to consider an alternative brand.
That’s how effective broadcast advertising works. It enters the conversation the consumer already is having (“I’ve got to replace my iPhone”) and offers a solution.
It doesn’t cause consumers to run into the store shouting, “I saw your commercial on TV/heard it on the radio!”
