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July 13, 2004
Can you hear me now?
There's been something bothering me lately. Whenever someone on a cell phone mutters the words, "Can you hear me now?," the next thing I expect the person to say is "Good." Then I am unable to avoid thinking about the Verizon ad about the nerdy technician who travels the world testing out phone networks. Does anyone else experience this as well? I'm sure it's been sitting in my subconscious for quite some time, but it really boiled over this week when I heard it 4 times. I realized that the ad really sticks because Verizon was clever enough to subvert a common phrase that you might overhear and use it as a trigger to conjure up images or memories of their commercials. The character in the ads is quite memorable though none of the ad storylines stick out at all for me. Perhaps the stories were merely a way of creating a variety of experiences through which you would gradually remember this character and his 2 lines. After repeated viewing, the audience is conditioned to expect a particular response to the prompt to "Can you hear me now?" and think of the commercial. Although this is a mildly wicked example of how people are trying to change what you think, I must applaud the people at Verizon for their cleverness and ingenuity. Bravo... Bravo...
Posted by at July 13, 2004 09:11 AM
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