It looks like Verizon in the USA is coming up with their own branded version of Android-based smartphones. Appropriately named Droid, they launched a full scale assault on the iPhone with the following ad:
The ad points out that Droid has the following features that the iPhone doesn’t:
– physical keyboard
– third party multitasking
– 5MP camera with flash
– more customization of options
– widgets; open-development
– removable battery; 10K+ apps
– Android 2.0; speech recognition
This is definitely a very interesting ad campaign path that Verizon took. It sure does emphasize the shortfalls of the iPhone, but on the other hand the ad doesn’t even show what a Droid phone will look like! If Verizon is going to launch it’s own branded phone, I can see other carriers possibly doing the same thing in Canada. However, all of the Big 3 carriers here will be carrying the iPhone, so I highly doubt they would spend the money to dedicate their brand to an Android phone.
Of course, Verizon’s plan is a pretty smart one. They come up with a viral ad that will get all the Apple fanboys up defending their beloved iPhone, therefore generating even more press for Droid. By running this ad Verizon is definitely setting up some expectations when it launches Droid.
What do you think? Effective advertising or is Verizon digging themselves into a hole?