AT&T Shuts Down T-Mobile in New Ad

This is competitive advertising in its most straightforward state. AT&T put out these ads last week in newspapers blatantly attacking T-Mobile for their dropped calls and slower speeds. This was a bold move for AT&T to use such an honest advertisement to get at their competitor. Putting the full focus on the faults of their competitors and only stating their own company name in smaller print is an interesting tactic to catch the attention of readers. At first when you look at the ad it seems as though it’s actually an ad for T-Mobile, using a layout and typeface reminiscent of the company’s past ads, that is until you read the qualities of the network.

I think showing these comparison numbers between the two companies is a very effective way of showing why consumers should make the switch from T-Mobile to AT&T. Competitive advertising is always tricky because you don’t want a company to look as though they’re poorly attacking another company at risk of ruining their own reputation. However, in an industry that’s known for customer frustration and strong opinions of particular companies, I think AT&T found exactly what customers would want to know when shopping around. It may be hard for T-Mobile to see their faults in print, but maybe this will show them what they’re up against to make the next move.