TL;DR
- AT&T and T-Mobile continue to throw shade at one another, with the Un-Carrier releasing a new ad that defends its own network while poking fun at its rival.
- The new ad once again features Billy Bob Thornton and has a somewhat similar vibe to AT&T’s earlier ad.
- The recent rivalry began when AT&T released an ad accusing T-Mobile of “Un-Truths,” allegedly misusing NAD materials in the process, which led to requests for a takedown of the ad, which AT&T is aiming ot fight in court.
The battle between AT&T and T-Mobile continues, as the latter has released a new ad poking fun at AT&T. The ad aired on live TV over the weekend, though T-Mobile provided us a copy (above). Billy Bob Thornton is back once again, this time defending the Un-Carrier and what it says are unfounded claims about its performance.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority?
Before we get to the video, let’s talk about the fight that led here. This all started about a month ago when AT&T released an ad featuring Luke Wilson that made claims against the Un-Carrier for what it called “Un-Truths.” T-Mobile responded quickly, alleging that AT&T used material from the BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) to call out T-Mobile.
Why does this matter? T-Mobile says AT&T’s ad violates the NAD’s policies, which state that advertisers should “not mischaracterize any decision, abstract or press release issued or use and/or disseminate such decision, abstract or press release for advertising and/or promotional purposes.” AT&T was forced to take the ad campaign down as a result, though the carrier said the fight wasn’t over and that it was willing to take the matter to court.
Not willing to let AT&T’s attack go unanswered, T-Mobile’s new ad features Billy Bob Thornton driving while talking about a friend who says he used to have T-Mobile’s network and “it sucked.” Thornton goes on to say that many things used to suck, like the giant, “frozen lasagna”-sized phones of the past. The ad argues that times change, and that T-Mobile now has the best network by “like, a lot.” The video ends with a direct swipe at AT&T’s earlier ad as well.
It’s clear that the race between the big three carriers has become more aggressive recently, as all three respond to a shifting landscape where prepaid is growing and postpaid is slowing or even declining, at least in Verizon’s case. What remains to be seen is whether AT&T will respond to this ad, or whether the arguably petty back-and-forth will fizzle out sooner rather than later.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.
