Use Of Text Messaging In Ads
Here’s an interesting marketing trend inspired by mobile phone culture. Building on the popularity of Text messaging advertisers are using the texting acronyms (omg, bff, g2g etc) in their ads. I’m sure phone companies are enjoying this attention — after all data has become one of their major revenue producers. I have also noticed this in magazines. However all this new vocabulary may leave parents confused and that is not exactly what the advertisers want. This goes back to the generation gap post I did a while ago. A recent Wall Street Journal article notes this trend emphasizes that it is important to explain the shorthand, otherwise the ad will miss a large number of its audience!
Young adults 18 to 24 years old spend about 32 minutes a day texting, according to the Yankee Group, a research company. The texting phenomenon has given rise to acronyms like “paw” (parents are watching), “lol” (laughing out loud), “g2g” (got to go) and “ooc” (out of control).
Some of the ads that use the shorthand have drawn a big audience. Cingular’s spot has attracted more than 1 million views on YouTube thus far. The ad, for an unlimited texting plan offered by the carrier, featured a mom questioning her daughter, Bethann, about all the texting she was doing. Bethann’s response: “o-m-g, i-n-b-d.” (Translation: “Oh my gosh, it’s no big deal.”) She explains to her mom that she is texting her “bff Jill.” The ad has spawned numerous imitations on YouTube.
Frito-Lay, McDonald’s, AT&T and others have tried to demonstrate their street cred to the teenage set by using text-messaging abbreviations in their commercials. An Internet video ad for McDonald’s in Korea shows two men warming up their vocal cords to sing the McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” jingle. At the end of the video, a voice-over chimes in: “Are you ready?” The screen reads: “r u ready?”
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