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Luke Wilson recalled from front as carrier takes the 'high road' with feel-good lifestyle effort; will Verizon follow suit?
IT LOOKS AS if a truce has been called in the wireless wars.
After months of putting much of its $1.87 billion media budget behind ads featuring Luke Wilson to beat back Verizon Wireless, AT&T is taking the high road with a new campaign tiiemed "Rethink Possible." And after funding its "There's a map for that" ads that tear down AT&T's coverage with a big chunk of its $2.16 billion media budget, Verizon is expected to also relinquish its weapon.
"Verizon is going to have to do the same," predicted industry analyst Jeff Kagan. "I think Verizon is watching, and I bet its agency is scrambling."
AT&T's new ad direction - one dripping with positive statements such as "Because before it could be done, it couldn't," and "These are indeed amazing times" - is evidence of telecom's latest evolution. In a saturated market (234 million Americans age 13 and older are already mobile subscribers as of February,...