Upon seeing a new Dialog Communications Inc ad campaign running in Western Kentucky claiming they take the BS out of phone service, Bell South has issued a cease and desist order.To avoid the cost of litigation, Dialog has decided not to contest the order, and has begun pulling the advertising.
The newspaper, TV, direct mail and outdoor campaign, created by advertising agency BOONE/OAKLEY, Charlotte, features the large headline. “ell outh,” and below that, “We take the BS out of phone service. Dialog Telecommunications.” It goes on to state that Dialog phone service has “no hidden fees, no extra charges, no BS.”
The advertising broke on May 2, after going up early on a very small number of outdoor boards on April 29. BellSouth issued its cease and desist on that same day, leading Dialog to suspect that its larger competitor had been informed of the campaign in advance. According to the BellSouth VP and general counsel, “This is the fastest that I’ve ever seen a reaction to anything like this. This came across my desk within days,the people upstairs are completely incensed.”
As is always the case with stunt marketing like this, Dialog Telecommunications has already receive far more than its money’s worth on this one.
