'Phone or Die' in Bed Stuy
If the Bed Stuy edition of the new locally-targeted ad campaign from Virgin Mobile is any indication, Branson et al should probably get back to the drawing board before the national roll-out. Here’s the text: When people close their eyes and think of Brooklyn, your legendary brownstones come to mind. That’s because everyone from rappers…
If the Bed Stuy edition of the new locally-targeted ad campaign from Virgin Mobile is any indication, Branson et al should probably get back to the drawing board before the national roll-out. Here’s the text:
When people close their eyes and think of Brooklyn, your legendary brownstones come to mind. That’s because everyone from rappers to directors have used you as the backdrop for stories about life in the neighborhood that has everything. Do or Die is more than a moniker. It speaks to the fact that you don’t take crap from anyone. Especially newcomers who want to change Bed-Stuy into some sort of yuppie strip mall. With us you only make changes if you want. That’s the beauty of our cell phone plans without annual contracts. Because Bed-Stuy, we know you call your own shots.
It’s a good thing Virgin Mobile has been so entrenched in the community for so long and isn’t trying to exploit it for commercial purposes! Check out another of the ads that up along the BQE on the jump.
I’ve said this before, but the trackback URL’s on this site never never never work. What’s up with that? I’m trying to send this story somewhere. What am I doing wrong with that URL?
Well of course Virgin would have an ad like this. They’re a music industry company. The music industry has no problem encouraging negative, destructive, “street” attitudes in young people (of all races) just to make a buck. I actually think this ad could get a lot of attention, following on the heels of the criticism the rap music world took following the Don Imus affair. Disposable phones may be used by many kinds of people, but there’s no question what kind of people this ad is aimed at, who use disposable phones.
You are wrong again sis…
Children/Tweens and Teens have migrated over to “family plans”. They are no longer targeted as “pay as you go”.
Outside of your race you are not even close to being the target for this ad.
If an ad was in Bensonhurst and featured language in a dialect of what is heard on the Sopranos would you think it was focused at all Italian-Americans? No I would think not. I would say it would be targeting younger gangster wanabes.
You own a Brownstone, work for an agency, are midddle-class at least, have a phone with a contract – this ad is not trying to catch your attention. If it pisses you off so what – you wouldn’t use virgin mobile regardless.
POS not equal point of sale. POS equal piece of s..t.
Newstoner, John Ife, Call it what it is too:
You are all on my team…
John Ife,
A man after my own heart.
Sorry, the ad is offensive. It almost reminds me of the old lady on the plane in the movie “Airplane” … ” Oh stewardess! I speak jive ”
Authenticity is what speaks to consumers. “You Rule”?? When’s the last time you even heard that in Beverly Hills, let alone the Stuy. Anything less than authentic, and it’s just a billboard.
What else is offensive is the broad brush some people carry to describe a neighborhood.
When will the self righteousness end?
Good Grief.
I think it’s just embarrassing and foolish. many longtime bed stuy residents cringe about do or die and it represents something alot more painful and violent than choosing your phone plan. there should be a little more respect for what that actually means and what people have fought against in their own communities. It is similar in it’s cynicism to the use of stop snitchin by major clothing labels. yuck.
The ad should say something about remembering to wipe the prints off the phone before you throw it in a garbage can on fulton street.
“Pay as you go is not about poor credit or having an untraceable phone for drug dealing. It is also for CHILDREN/TWEENS/TEENS. It is also for those who are repairing credit.”
Actually it’s also for folks who, like me, are perfectly capable of living without a cell phone for 99% of our lives and do not consider the 1% requirement to be worth anything more than the $6.67 per month minimum charge required by Virgin.