Commenting on AT&T’s new $200 million ad campaign and particularly one of its television spots, Slates’ Seth Stevenson gives an Adrants-worthy review saying, “…the worst thing (not just with the spot but with the whole campaign) is that the central, defining, overarching element ? is a punctuation mark! It’s a $200 million media buy that’s built on a freaking ampersand!”
Calling the campaign’s attempt at racial harmony, Stevenson comments on the faces in the spot that “stare directly into the camera, and convey to us that their lives are made better with the help of a multinational services company.
Sometimes these spots will cut away from the faces (often to a skyscraper or bullet train), and sometimes the faces give monologues. Either way, the central visual concept is high-contrast racial juxtapositions (a shtick that hasn’t been thoughtful or eye-grabbing since Benetton did it 15 years ago); the target mood is “uplifting”; and the result is utterly numbing and indistinguishable because it’s so completely played out by now. Thanks, AT&T, for adding to the pile.”
We’re with you Seth.
