AT&T VS Verizon Round 2

Verizon Wireless 3G Coverage

It’s like…2 big kids fighting. 2 really big kids. Do you remember the Verizon commercial? Remember “There’s an app…err, map for that.” You can see the commercial below. I have to admit, when I saw the commercial, I thought is was pretty funny. But AT&T doesn’t think it’s funny. In fact, they are suing Verizon Wireless in regards to the accuracy of those 3G coverage maps. You can see the actual PDF complaint here. Now does AT&T really think consumers are too dumb to differentiate 3G coverage? Well, the real problem they talk about in the complaint is that – if you look at the map above – the blue represents 3G coverage of AT&T, and the absence of blue in areas is deceptive; it is led to believe that AT&T has no coverage at all in those areas. In fact, they do have coverage. It’s just 2G. Now does Verizon Wireless have to show that those areas are covered by 2G? No.

The complaint was filed and AT&T wanted to Verizon to pull the ad, but the judge thought otherwise, sorry…no restraints on the commercial. So, Verizon fires back. The commercial is below. This spot also is a bit humorous. And it has a celebrity! They managed to get Luke Wilson on board to do this. The checklist is quickly checked off appropriately in the advantage of AT&T until the last statement:

Name that starts with a V. Hey, they got one.

Oh…I get that one! I actually got more of a chuckle from the x not sticking to the board. I think the whole spot is human though. I expect a rebuttal from Verizon, especially since they have not stop airing the commercial. AT&T also plans on running print advertisements in major newspapers showing a “real” comparison chart.