Can anyone explain this ad to me?
What in the world are they trying to say?
What in the world were they thinking?
(What’s funny about the premise that a hotel will bend over backwards for a guest who comes through a “low-priced” Internet channel is that the opposite is often true. Check out this post I wrote tompeters.com.)
Sometimes creative indulgence goes beyond the bounds of taste.
AT&T is running a series of ads for its Internet Connect service that show Bill Kurtis, holding a laptop in various out-of-the-way places, declaring, “I just found the Internet.”
Sounds like a great product, and the basic advertising idea is a good one. But in one execution Kurtis tells viewers that he is on a deserted island as he holds his laptop with the AT&T Internet Connect card stuck in its slide. He declares “I just found the Internet” while he stands in front of a crashed airplane that has “Amelia” painted on its side.
On July 2, 1937, the famous aviator Amelia Earhart, along with her flying partner Fred Noonan, disappeared over the Pacific during an attempt to fly around the globe. They were never found, and were declared dead a year and a half later.
Sorry. But this is just badvertising. Those who don’t know about Amelia Earhart won’t get the reference, and those who do will (ought to?) find it in bad taste.
"When Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention"
- Tom Peters
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Encounters:
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In addition to writing, I spend most of my work time helping companies unleash their potential by creating better connections with their customers. This happens through my speaking events and through Yastrow & Company consulting engagements, where my team and I help companies figure out who they intend to be in the future, and then engage the entire company in creating that future through strong "We" customer relationships.
Before starting Yastrow & Company in the mid-90s I was vice-president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels. My experiences in the hotel business showed me clearly that most marketing doesn’t happen in the marketing department. Customers are paying attention to all interactions with a company, not just the promises made in traditional "marketing communications."
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