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Alter Ego

Two 'Alter Ego' stories April 2012 - May 2012
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T-Mobile TV ad compares iPhone 4S on AT&T to its 4G network

Avatar for Jordan Kahn May 9 2012 - 8:07 am PT
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pczODHEO23I]

As part of its new “Alter Ego” ad campaign, T-Mobile posted the above TV commercial comparing the speed of the iPhone 4S on AT&T to devices on its 4G network. The carrier recently did a similar comparison when launching its Test Drive tool for comparing its 4G devices with the iPhone on other networks. In related news, yesterday we reported T-Mobile was preparing to rollout an iPhone-compatible 4G HSPA+ 19000 MHz network to various markets by the end of the year.

Although many thought the comparison of the 3G iPhone on AT&T to 4G Android devices on T-Mobile was unfair, Apple is rumored to launch a new LTE iPhone following the introduction of the new 4G iPad last March. Recent reports indicated Qualcomm was having trouble meeting demand for LTE chips likely to land in the next-gen iPhone, indicating T-Mobile will likely have to take a new approach to its ads come October.

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T-Mobile Test Drives 4G vs 3G in unfair network comparison

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Apr 18 2012 - 7:35 am PT
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Following the launch of its new Alter Ego ad campaign yesterday, T-Mobile just made its new “Test Drive” tool available for comparing the speed of “American’s Largest 4G Network” to other guys— Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. Unfortunately, as pointed out by TMONews, the carrier is comparing 4G LTE Android handsets, such as the Galaxy S II, to the 3G speeds of the iPhone 4S. This is obviously not a fair comparison of LTE network speeds…

T-Mobile’s TestDrive website is now live and I will say at first glance, I’m disappointed. I’ll just get right to it — T-Mobile, I’m really puzzled by this. The idea that you claim “America’s largest 4G network” and design a new commercial campaign around speed and then compare your “4G” network against “3G” smartphones is a questionable act. Speed should no longer be the focus of T-Mobile’s marketing campaign, Value and Technology should. Speed should be a secondary thought. If you can’t win on speed, highlight where you can, Value, Value, Value.

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