NetZero is running a television commercial that mirrors a currently running commercial from AOL. The AOL ad had members showing up at AOL’s offices to offer suggestions on how to make the Internet better. The humor came from the exec asking the receptionist how many members had shown up, to which she replied, “All of them.” Then the camera pans out the window to a sea of AOL members, surprising the exec. As Rick Bruner and The Media Drop point out the NetZero ad copies the AOL spot almost exactly – even down to the actors and the set. In the NetZero spot, members show up to say they are leaving AOL for NetZero. The exec asks, “how many,” and the receptionist replies, “all of them,” as in the AOL spot. Again, the camera pans out the window to the sea of people. This time, they are holding signs which say , “Bye,” “See Ya,” and “$9.95.”
It’s both a smart and questionable strategy. Leveraging AOL’s much larger media budget, NetZero hopes to broaden awareness of its own campaign by association. But, many viewers may simply confuse the two spots not realizing who the advertiser is or simply remember AOL because it is more ubiquitous. It’s very funny though, but the proof will be in the number of $9.95 sign ups NetZero gets.
The original AOL spot can be viewed here. Once we locate the NetZero spot, we’ll post a link.
UPDATE: We contacted NetZero and they were gracious enough to share their spots. You can view them here.
