SubscribeA federal judge Wednesday ruled that Verizon Wireless can continue to run its 3G network ads, suggesting they might be “sneaky,” but are not misleading. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten Sr. told AT&T’s attorneys that their request for a temporary restraining order was denied, but the judge indicated he will hear new arguments in a second hearing on December 16.
AT&T claimed that Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” ad campaign mislead consumers into believing AT&T provided no service in vast areas of the country because Verizon’s ads depicted non 3G service areas in white, a color that traditionally represents “no service” on many cell phone coverage maps.
Judge Batten said people casually viewing the ads might misunderstand the commercials, but a viewer’s misinterpretation “doesn’t mean they’re misleading.”
“Most people who are watching TV are semi-catatonic,” he said, prompting laughter from the courtroom. “They’re not fully alive.”
AT&T’s apparent backup plan is a new ad of its own, attacking Verizon Wireless with… Luke Wilson.
[flv width=”640″ height=”450″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/ATT Ad Luke Wilson.flv[/flv]
Actor Luke Wilson helps AT&T Mobility fire back at Verizon Wireless as the holiday season approaches. (30 seconds)
The effectiveness of Wilson’s spirited defense of AT&T is debatable, judging from early ad reviews. We spotted one continuity error straight away. At the 0:15 second mark, notice the “Access to over 100,000 apps” box is already filled with an “x” before Wilson turns to the board to fill it. The “x” is there before it’s gone and back again. Perhaps it’s an unintentional homage to the frustration experienced by AT&T-exclusive iPhone application developers not getting approval for applications previously approved.
Who is Luke Wilson…isn’t he just the brother of the guy who was in those 2 movies with Jackie Chan? Has he even been in any movies himself? If this article hadn’t given me his name, I wouldn’t have known it was anyone, but just some person doing this commercial. I wonder how much the customers really pay for this junk? How much did he cost, and how much does the ad cost, and how far would that money have gone to upgrade services and repair things? But I always ask these questions when I see a commercial or ad… Read more »
Luke Wilson has gained a lot of weight…I wonder if it’s for a movie? @waiting and watching – Luke Wilson was the lead role in Idiocracy and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. The former was watchable. Back to the topic at hand, this is hardly a rally against Verizon’s “there’s a map for that” ads. While Verizon really flubbed (in my opinion) the first Droid ads knocking the iPhone the “map” ads do make a good point – 3G network coverage is what today’s smartphone users want, nay..need. What good is having the most popular smartphones if your network data speed is… Read more »
Actually, Luke Wilson has been in quite a few appearances (45 by IMDB’s count) . Some were great like Idiocracy (very underrated movie, in my opinion) and The Royal Temenbaums. He was also on quite a few episodes of That 70’s Show. Personally, Owen’s the one I can never remember the name of. I always think of Luke Wilson when I see him.