New Droid Ad Has a Blast at iPhone's Expense

By Adam Dickter
December 4, 2009 2:22PM

Verizon is ramping up the testosterone in its newest ad campaign against the Big Man on Campus, Apple's iPhone. Falling just short of saying other phones are for girlie-men, Verizon's ads tout their phone's "racehorse taped to a Scud missile" speed as opposed to that of a "digitally clueless beauty pageant queen."

The enemy phone, never mentioned by name, is briefly shown in two scenes. In one, young people gaze at it shrinking in a display case before they are all engulfed in a blast of flame. In another, the device erupts into something that looks like a mixture of cement and milk.

The Droid is made by Motorola and distributed in the United States by Verizon.

Going Their Own Way?

The ad blasts a hole in speculation that Verizon wants to be the next iPhone carrier when Apple's contract with AT&T expires next year.

"We haven't heard about any overtures from Verizon to become iPhone's new network ," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst for mobile devices for IDC.

"What Verizon has been doing with the Droid is to wisely position it as the alternative to the iPhone. Part of that strategy to highlight some of the shortcomings of the [iPhone] and AT&T network, such as the lack of 3G coverage," or fast data speed.

Another shortcoming, said Llamas, is the iPhone's inability to run third party multiple applications concurrently. "Verizon Wireless is promoting the fact that Droid is capable of doing these things," he said.

Can Droid Gain Ground?

No one expects the Droid to make a dent in iPhone sales in the immediate future. "It's not going to happen in Q4," said Llamas. "But Apple has lost a lot of mileage already, so to speak, and Droid has just ramped up its campaign."

Llamas sees the iPhone gaining some ground as a consumer oriented device while the iPhone should hold its own among enterprise clients, who buy far larger quantities. The reason?

"The iPhone has the ability to synch up to corporate business systems, which is very important," he said. "The Droid currently does not. Having said that, [the Droid] is still a very good phone. It has positioned itself as much more of a consumer play."

Its broader coverage area is another advantage Verizon likes to tout over AT&T.

"Verizon is promoting the strength of its network, and the idea that you're not just getting a device but getting [the whole] network," said Llamas.

Does all this rule out a future Apple-Verizon collaboration? "It's always possible," he said. "We've seen very strict competitors quickly colloborate further down the line. I wouldn't rule it out, but I wouldn't rule out [an Apple deal with] Sprint or T-Mobile either."