Sq1 War Room

I need a Droid.

I didn’t know I needed one until I saw the commercials — but they got me, hook, link, and sinker. Suddenly this non-texter is craving the badass, macho phone that will let me tweet my every move (and still give me directions!).

The Droid is a web-capable phone heralded as “the iPhone killer.” The source of its strength is Android, an operating system built by Google. Talk about your battle of the brands.

The first shot over the bow was an ad called “iDon’t.” It was a direct attack on the iPhone — and they nailed it. The ad begins in perfect Apple form: upbeat, indie song; white screen; black text. But one by one, Motorola calls out everything you might have thought about the iPhone, but never said out loud.

It was like the emperor’s new clothes: Yes, I DO want a keyboard. I like open development. I want interchangeable batteries!

It only got better from there. The next ad says, “We built you a robot.” Robots crush rocks! They punch holes through steel walls! Robots get the job done. (And who hasn’t dreamed of owning a robot?)

The more Motorola talked, the more I believed. The iPhone is too pretty; too delicate. What if I smudge it? What if I drop it and break the screen? Droid promises to have learned from Apple’s mistakes, and I find that promise irresistible.

The third ad is my favorite — and the piece that tipped the phone-purchasing scales. This ad promises that Droid doesn’t sacrifice function for fashion. “It’s fast. Racehorse-duct-taped-to-a-scud-missile fast.” I could write fanmail to the copywriter.

You’ve sold me, Droid. When my contract is up in May, I am definitely getting one — even though it means switching service providers.

And I will finally fulfill my childhood dream of owning a robot.

Tags: advertising

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 10:35 am and is filed under advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.