It is a period of war between providers. Verizon’s TV commercials and print ads, striking from the safety of the company’s widely-touted network, have struck a blow against AT&T’s PR, reducing its lawyers to picking apart semantics. AT&T’s 3G network, clearly suffering from a lack of coverage and little blue dots, fought back with its own commercial featuring Luke Wilson and a snarky, magnetic checklist.
Enter Apple.
Apple has prepared its own series of commercials set to obliquely attack Verizon, made in the same mold as its ongoing “there’s an app for that” campaign. Two ads set to air on Monday evening demonstrate how iPhone users can use apps in the middle of their call without interruption, thanks to the iPhone’s ability to handle voice and data simultaneously.
One ad shows off how practical this feature can be in the middle of a call with a client, a call with a buddy, and a call with your wife—all the important things in life. The other run through three scenarios where the feature comes in handy in a single call with a friend. Each ends with the same question: “Can your phone, and your network do that?”
It’s a shot at Verizon that they can’t easily rebuff. Verizon’s current network is based on the CDMA protocol, which restricts all of Verizon’s phones to handling voice and data separately. But AT&T’s GSM-based network can handle voice and data at the same time without breaking a sweat.
While this won’t stop Verizon from beating the 3G coverage drum, it’s a bullet point that AT&T will appreciate. Much better than “name that starts with the letter ‘V.’”
At least for now, it seems that AT&T and Apple have decided to put aside their squabbling over AT&T’s fear to commit to a date for tethering to fight a mutual adversary. I guess all’s fair in love and advertising.