Posted by Joshua Taylor, Communications Director
& Jeff Smack, Art Director
You’ve probably already seen the TV ads. Verizon & Alltel “Better Together.” The two mobile giants try to navigate their brands through a mega merger without losing customers or their identities. At least for now Verizon & Alltel have combined the “Can you hear me now?” guy with the unicorn haired “Chad.” The main question has to be “How long will this work?” Customers traditionally don’t like change unless it’s unquestionable improvement. How will they react to this new marriage? So far it appears that the campaigns have gone well but I can’t help wondering how long “Can you hear me now?” guy and “Chad” can coexist before the muddling of the two brands leads to a weakened identity? It’s smoothe sailing for now but I’m getting a “Two Great Tastes that Taste Weird Together” kind of sense of the future.
I look forward to seeing how far the agencies will push this tag team. Will we get a backstory where the two rehash past differences over a beer telling tales of their days manning rival kiosks at the mall? Wasn’t “Can you hear me now?” guy one of the cretins in the gang that “Chad” was always nonchalantly undermining? There’s got to be mascot beef broiling here. Is the market just supposed to assume these two step siblings are copasetic now that their parent organizations have tied the knot? Will mommy and daddy have a new All-rizon baby and kick the big bros to the curb? We demand a little more explanation over here at Madison+Main and we’re looking forward to the play out.