The Twin Cities' local telephone service used to be provided by US West, one of the baby Bells that spun off of AT&T after deregulation in the 1980s. Then in 2000, the company was bought by Qwest, which is based in Denver. I remember finding it amusing that the two names rhymed, but it also made the transition easier.
Now Qwest is being taken over by a third company called CenturyLink. That name, to me, is antiquated: For some reason, the word century strikes me as a 20th century naming convention.
Even worse than the name is this full-page ad CenturyLink ran in the Sunday paper. I have absolutely no idea what this image is supposed to mean.
Here's a close-up of the text portion and part of the photo. Yes, those are Slinkies® going down the stairs.
Let's see... Qwest is becoming CenturyLink and suddenly half a dozen Slinkies are bouncing down the stairs. Does a 1940s toy symbolize technological advancement in 2011? Does a Slinky doing its thing somehow mean I'll be able to get a faster Internet connection or better customer service?
How much did CenturyLink pay for this ad, and does its complete lack of coherence indicate anything about what we as customers can expect from them?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
A Bad Time to Put on Something Slinky
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hmm, very odd. I'd love to know whether this idea came from, say, the company CEO rather than an ad agency.
Post a Comment