Until now, cell phone companies have promoted their services through spots which emphasize what a great convenience it is to be contacted anywhere. A secluded beach, a peaceful forest, a serene mountaintop – all, it would seem, virtual offices for workaholic yuppies.
However, a new series of spots from Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications, airing in theatres across Canada, seems to imply that even a wireless communications company can recognize that sometimes – in plain talk – you need to turn the damn thing off.
‘There’s been a lot of talk in the media for the past year about the intrusiveness of cellular phones and pagers and related devices,’ says Paul McAleese, vice-president, consumer segment for Toronto-based Cantel. ‘People just frankly don’t have the courtesy to turn them off in certain places.’
A movie theatre is one such unsuitable place. So, in an effort to curb cell phone use in theatres – and brand the company with its target market – Cantel struck a deal with Cineplex Odeon wherein the theatre owner airs Cantel’s three spots in return for the luxury of not having to tell its own patrons to turn off their phones while watching a film.
The first of the three 90-sec. spots, produced by Toronto agency Gee Jeffery & Partners, is airing in theatres across Canada now.
The spot was made to resemble a trailer for an action movie, says McAleese. It shows an agent on a mission to diffuse a bomb – an acoustically-sensitive bomb – that has been set underground in New York. However, just as the hero seems to be on the verge of success, a cell phone rings, seemingly from the back rows of the theatre (thanks to a ‘trick’ with Dolby stereo sound), according to McAleese.
This is when it becomes clear that the spot is no trailer. As the bomb’s clock counts down 10 seconds to impending doom, the hero looks up in exasperation and says ‘What was that?’ – to which the hero’s assistant replies, ‘I think it’s a cell phone. And it came from the audience.’
Surprised, the hero says, ‘What kind of jerk lets his cell phone go off during a movie?’ just seconds before the warehouse and city are blown to smithereens – with the turn-off-your-cell-phone message loud and clear.
Two more spots are to debut at the end of this year, with Cineplex rotating the commercials in secondary markets.
While cell phones used to be targeted mainly to the older businessman, McAleese says Cantel is well into the second wave of consumers – a more general audience in the 18-34 age bracket. And that’s why theatre advertising – with an irreverant twist – made sense.
‘The primary demographics for cinema marries up perfectly with the primary demographics for wireless,’ says McAleese.
In an effort to capture that same audience, Cantel is also embarking on a new campaign for its Amigo line, starting Nov. 10.
McAleese says the new campaign is to feature a relationship in which the audience will become involved, similar to the Dentyne and Crispy Crunch campaigns popular with younger consumers.
McAleese calls this demographic the ‘message culture’ – the people who are familiar with voice-mail and phone technology and who won’t hestitate to adopt technology to suit their needs. McAleese says this group is so comfortable with wireless communications that some are choosing to eliminate the use of a home telephone altogether.
‘It’s a big trend we’re seeing right now,’ he says, adding that people who don’t spend much time at home might feel it makes more financial sense to carry around a pcs rather than carry the cost of a home line.
The Amigo campaign coincides with the cinema spots and will include print (magazine and newspaper), along with two tv spots before the new year.
