May 29, 2008

This has irritated me for some time. There's a commercial put out by Vonage, the phone company, that has basically numbed me from ever going with that company, even if they were giving away free phone service for life.

The commercial starts off with a guy from "The Phone Company" (You ever notice how, for whatever reason, telecommunication companies almost ALWAYS have commercials that look like political smear campaigns?). He tells us, the viewer, "Don't listen to Vonage." Then before giving us any reason to listen to his argument, the most snobbish woman in history pushes him to the left side of the screen and interrupts him, saying "Well over 2 million people have switched to Vonage." She says this in a tone of voice as if you expect her to also say "Nyah nyah!". Not only is this childish, but also rude, as I was still listening to the first guy. If you expect us to go with YOUR company, at least let the competitor state his side.

Next, the guy tries to get back toward the center of the screen, but the girl refuses--in essence, trapping him off to the left. In my mind, this is the equivalent of pushing someone out of line and refusing to let them back in where they were. The woman then challenges the guy, asking how much they charge, where he finally starts his argument. She then interrupts him AGAIN, stating how Vonage is superior. You know, in the court of law, if the prosecutor keeps interrupting the defense, they probably would be disciplined by the judge in some way.

Finally, and this is the final straw to me, the guy states, "For over 100 years, the only thing we've changed..." where the woman, a third time, interrupts him by saying "is your prices?" before hipchecking him off the screen for good. I'm a very non-violent person by nature, but I almost feel like slapping her every time I see that commercial.

Again, this is rude. Second, she sounds like a 6-year-old in a "I know you are but what am I" kind of way. Third, she's spinning what he says all around--he never stated anything like that. He may have a valid point against Vonage that I need to hear, but nooooo... we won't hear THAT here. Vonage's message to me is this: "Sign up with us--we're far superior to others because we don't listen to them and you shouldn't either." On the other hand, Progressive Insurance openly states that they'll help you shop around for the best deal.

Also, you generally want likeable qualities to be present in your spokespeople. Some are humorous (Budweisers' Real Men of Genius, for instance). Some are funny in a cute sort of way, such as GEICO's gecko. This woman just comes across elitist, high-minded and snobbish. Generally, if you want to attract someone to your company, these are qualities you do NOT want. The only demographic I could see this appealing to are snobbish preppies from school, who, mind you, probably think that the whole situation is funny because they do that to people every day in their lives anyhow.

I just hate that dumb commercial.