Gods of Advertising

One reason to drag TV outside. Name another?

I keep seeing advertising for AT&T’s U-Verse; if I understand it correctly, the primary benefit seems to be the ability to watch TV anywhere you want. Ok, I guess that’s a benefit. Was anyway, like in 2007. With tablets and smartphones, people can now view content on a submarine.

I know… What AT&T is really advertising is the ability for people to watch their big-ass flat screen TV, wirelessly, which means Joe Blow can move his giant LCD from the living room into the backyard (or wherever) and still be able to watch it.

Fair enough. But wireless? You still need electricity. In other words: a wire. Moreover –and this is my bigger issue- in order to watch TV outside one has to schlep the TV outside. Which, despite what this swell how-to video claims, has got to be a royal pain in the ass.

He makes it look so easy…

Not only does a person have to unplug and lug the damn thing to another location (probably requiring help) said persons also have to prepare a safe and secure resting place. This likely means procuring a table (another chore) and setting it up near a power source, far from a no-brainer out of doors. “Honey, do we have an extension chord?” Yup. Another wire.

Is anyone that hard up to watch TV outside?

Frankly, isn’t lack of television one of the main reasons for being outside? Did not our parents constantly beseech us to “stop watching the idiot box and get our butts out of the house?”

One commercial in U-Verse’s campaign depicts two men watching a ballgame in a backyard. Fun in theory. But not when you consider all the above-mentioned hassles. Furthermore, now these two knuckleheads are further away from the bathroom, refreshments and a consistent climate. God forbid, bad weather rolls in. Rain and electronics are a bad mix. And even on a perfect day isn’t it then almost impossible discerning the picture? Either way, scrambling to drag a large TV back into the living room is an accident waiting to happen.

Unless I’m seriously missing something, I have to conclude U-Verse’s primary “benefit” is a novelty at best. A nightmare at worst. One of those things that seem cool in an ad but in fact is a big f–king drag.

For the record, I keep questioning my judgment on account of all the money AT&T is spending advertising U-Verse. (Surely, there must be more to it?) I’ve seen numerous 30-second executions airing during some of the most expensive programming, like the NFL. I find it hard to believe an advertiser would spend this many millions to sell a glorified novelty item.