Verizon runs duelling iPad 2, Droid Bionic ads
updated 11:00 pm EDT, Tue September 6, 2011
Verizon pitches iPad 2 and Droid Bionic in TV ads
Verizon had a rare instance of two major device ads running side-by-side on Tuesday. Its second-ever self-developed iPad 2 TV ad (below) starts off much like its very technical Android tablet ads at the Verizon store but avoids specs in favor of showing what can actually be done with a 3G iPad, such as downloading from iBooks at the beach or posting to Twitter at the campground. "I'll take it," is all the woman at the end says.
The message is consistent with Apple's conscious attempt to deemphasize specifications over the real-world experience, but is still notable in showing Verizon more in control. Verizon ran one TV ad of its own for the original iPad when it was bundled with a 3G hotspot. Many suspect that, to clinch an iPhone deal and better fight Android, Apple had to agree to relinquish its previous insistence that it be the only one running ads.
Simultaneously, an ad just airing on TV Tuesday night has shown the full commercial for the Motorola Droid Bionic that was given a brief teaser. The minute-long spot shows a woman battling robots in an arena where each of her victories gives her a different Bionic part, such as 4G, the dual-core processor, and the eight-megapixel camera. Once all the pieces are together, the heroine combines them to make Motorola's Android phone.
It stands in stark contrast to the iPad 2 ad in focusing almost exclusively on technical features and a hypermasculine image to the softer view of the Apple ad.
The spot doesn't mention the release date and supports views that the phone is launching on Thursday. It has received a moderate amount of attention as Verizon's non-iPhone 'halo' model for the fall but has had no real press release or pre-orders, suggesting it's not Verizon's main focus this year. The iPhone 5 is poised to launch a month from now and is widely presumed to take more importance.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2008
that Droid commercial
was totally wasted on me. If the article didn't state what the specs intention was, it would have been a complete loss as I don't think the Droid is going to be able to handle any large metal monsters like that or the Pentagon would want some of them. Those kinds of commercials are NOT going to help Android nor the 50 different manufacturers who believe they will. Their attitude simply must be, "It's about all we've got." What a reason to buy anything.