SubscribeComcast apparently doesn’t like Verizon invading its home turf. The Philadelphia-based cable company and the New York-based telephone company are engaged in an all-out ad war in southeastern Pennsylvania, and Verizon is calling “foul.”
Comcast replies turnabout is fair play, telling the Philadelphia Business Journal:
“Verizon’s been running a negative campaign against Comcast for years and its response to our campaign shows that they can dish it out but they can’t take it. As might be expected, the better the advertising and the more traction that it gains with consumers, the louder the competitor will object,” said Jennifer Khoury, Comcast spokeswoman.
So what ad put Verizon over the edge? Apparently it wasn’t the Verizon sales-stalker who invades people’s cars, front lawns, and demands credit card numbers of women at their doorstep. No, it was the fact that Comcast depicted a typical Verizon FiOS installation as resembling a chaotic home lawn invasion, complete with heavy ‘yard wrecking’ equipment, life-threatening recklessness, and a monthly bill so prolific in pages, it requires a forklift to deliver.
That did it.
“These ads have people ripping up property, putting lives in danger and suggesting that this is typical of FiOS installations,” Eric Rabe, Verizon’s senior vice president for media relations, said. “That is an outrageous characterization and it has to stop.”
Rabe wasn’t sure if Verizon would sue if Comcast doesn’t knock it off. The two companies are “having conversations,” according to Rabe.
While they talk, let’s explore the offending ad, plus several others from both sides. It must be nice to live in a heavily competitive market. Too many of us do not. Comcast limits monthly usage to 250GB. Verizon FiOS has no limit.
http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Comcast FiOS Bashing Ad 1.flvMore video follows below…
(Verizon customizes these ads for various markets on the tag. Our copies were tagged for New York/New Jersey)
Comcast loves to use the Verizon Sales-Stalker in their ads:
http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Comcast FiOS Bashing Ad 2.flv http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Comcast FiOS Bashing Ad 3.flv
Other stories of interest:
- Comcast’s Golden Opportunity in Verizon-Frontier Land
- How to Blow Through Comcast’s 250GB Usage Cap In Five Hours
- If Profit Margins Decline for Wired Broadband, Wall Street Will Deliver A Spanking
- D&C Video – How Usage Caps Impact Small Business in Rochester
- Competitors Kick Back At Cable’s Cap Campaign – Lowers Prices/Attacks Caps to Attract New Customers
Hilarious. I love ad wars, especially when it is all about image and less about facts.
Love these ads. I’ve been seeing Time Warner running a load of anti-FiOS commercials in my area lately on TV. I can see if I can get some of those commercials up online if you’d like to see them.
By the way Phil, how could you forget about the Michael Bay commercial? Sure, it’s not relevant to the topic but it’s awesome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHsxQJ9ZOo&fmt=18
Verizon runs fiber to your house. Comcast, like Time Warner, probably has it to a node then copper to your house. Fiber is the future and Verizon knows it. Comcast know they are a big threat. Upload bandwidth sucks with cable. FIOS, if you get their faster plus line, you get a 20Mb upload! Anyways, hopefully, it will bring prices down. I just wish I had FTTH service around my area.