I’m so tired of seeing advertisements for cell phones. It seems especially bad on the subways for some reason, as if people who ride the subway need to chat to keep them busy. Oh wait they can’t because Toronto’s subway system doesn’t have cell access. I guess subway riders fit the demographic then: people that can’t afford other means of transportation, or people that are environmentally conscious and against consumerism, or kids that can’t afford cell phones themselves anyways.

Now I understand why there are many more cell phone ads compared to ads selling say cameras. Everyone needs a cell phone, while not everyone needs a camera. I think the only comparable consumer electronic is probably a TV or a computer, but the former hardly ever needs replacing and the latter is probably family owned.

I like the fact, however, that there is competition in the cell phone market, with four ok, three different carriers. But there doesn’t seem to be any differentiation to the consumer aside from exclusive phones (which really, are sometimes a function of the network being used). In fact, I would argue that because there are 3 major players, then it’s an arms race to see which company can blind you with cute animals first (you lose Rogers).

The worse offender this holiday season is Bell. As if their ANNOYING beavers weren’t enough, their ad campaign this Xmas involved showing wrapped billboards for a several weeks. There was supposed to be an air of mystery — ooh what’s this, why are ALL THE BILLBOARDS in the subway station wrapped? Well fortunately for you, Mr. Annoying Beaver #1 ripped them all off for you, leaving the wrapping paper on the ground so you could put 2+2 together. Although, it wasn’t terribly hard to guess which company it would be, considering only Best Buy and Bell use that shade of blue (and Best Buy would have used yellow ribbon).

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: advertising, cellphones, rant