This is an essay I wrote for a Marketing course in March 2023.
It is about a 5 min read.
Throughout advertising
history, ads of all kinds have come along to build big and small successes
using conventional and experimental means. For example, some ads have brought
entire industries to life, such as the continuous 1907 "The Hershey Kiss"
campaign. While others have revived struggling businesses, like Apple's
1997-2002 "Think different" campaign. And there are those that have
left a lasting impression through humor, like Grey Poupon's 1981 classic
"Pardon me," which my father showed me, and I have since remembered.
It is a testament to the skill and creativity of advertisers that we can name
so many brands and slogans from just the top of our head. Each jingle and
slogan are a carefully crafted work of a very specific kind of art. However, it
must be noted that within the vast and wide-ranging ad space no campaign has
ever proven the more prophetic or insightful, showcasing the power of
advertising to inspire and shape the future, as the “You Will” campaign by
AT&T; from over 30 years ago in 1993.
The campaign was, of
course, selling something. Specifically, the idea that the American Telephone
and Telegraph corporation was a harbinger of innovation and cutting age
technology, or at the least a facilitator of such things. This was because
AT&T needed to maintain public interest throughout the 1993 year as no new
services or products would be introduced by the company to continue traditional
growth. This was achieved by the way the ads spread fantastic ideas about what
the future might be like through TV commercials, and some of the first ever
online ads. The campaign was created by the now defunct ad agency ‘N.W. Ayer
&Son’ with the challenge of making advertisements for products that did not
yet exist. This meant selling an idea, or many ideas that somehow connected to
communication facilitated by the AT&T corporation. With the celebrity voice
talent of Tom Selleck, the TV spots were directed by the now renown film
director, David Fincher while he was still a relatively unknown TV commercial and music video
maker(AT&T).
The ads themselves are
centralized around a core question and answer structure. This structure is
called the "FAQ format" or "FAQ-style". FAQ stands for
"Frequently Asked Questions" and this format is commonly used to
present information in a clear and concise way. As the commercial begins the
question is posed “Have you ever …” where an interesting futurist theory is
then displayed, followed by, “You will. And the company that will bring it to
you is AT&T.” The interesting futurist theories predictions made with the
format have since proven to be the most accurate out of any ad or entertainment
media since. The innovations discussed in the TV spots include, AI virtual
assistants, digital medical history, flatscreen TV’s, grocery store checkout
machines, internet libraries, language translation software, non-stop toll
roads, personal GPS navigation, self-service kiosks, smart home automation,
smartwatches, speech recognition, telemedical services, touchscreens, video
phone calls, videos on demand, wireless internet, even working and studying
from home. Considering the number of ads,
they ran; it is simply incredible how many things the advertisers got right. It
is still unknown what the principal methodology was behind these theories besides
the utilization of planned AT&T communication technology.
The style of the ads is
realistic with colors notably dark and muted, which is in stark contrast to
most forms of advertising that utilize bright eye-catching colors. This was
done deliberately as a way to ground the proposed technology in reality. This
allows the showcased technology to seamlessly fuse with technology that existed
at the time so that it could be better understood. Since the campaign promotes
a few general ideas rather than a specific product, the visuals are not
required to give any specific technology special attention. There is also an
auditory style throughout the ads, that of a smooth saxophone and jazzy theme that
are designed to bring a smile to the face of the viewer, which works with great
efficiency. As well as sfx (sound effects), which sounds like a woman saying
“oooh” or “ahhh” after an idea has been displayed. These are very subtle
additions that inform the viewer that whatever is on screen is really ‘cool’ or
can create a positive impression. Lastly, humanism is the main topic at the
center of the “You Will” ad campaign. All the ideas and how they are presented
imply that everything discussed is done for an altruistic purpose. The ads
feature smiling, happy people, with technology portrayed as a facilitator of
positive emotions rather than its source. This approach underscores the
campaign's vision of a realistic future, and again highlights the reality that
would eventually come to pass.
The ads were successful
for AT&T at the time and even into the future. Between the years 1992 and
1995 AT&T stock value rose roughly 18-20% in value(Macrotrends). The ads also won some awards, notably they won the
first annual David Ogilvy Award for most effective ad campaign supported by
research, the 1994 Personal Communications Industry Award, and two ADDYs (WaybackMachine).
On a cultural note, “You Will” was ranked in the top 25 commercials of 1993 by
consumers (WaybackMachine). As time passed, the ads were eventually
re-discovered by internet sleuths, and their relevance was reborn. AT&T was
vindicated and lauded for its ideas that had finally become reality. 25 years
after the start of the “You will” campaign, in 2018, AT&T added to the
campaign with a single commercial that made more reasonable predictions thought
up by the same minds that created the original. Sadly, this one-off ad is
missing many of the components that made the originals so memorable, but it
still plays as an optimistic and cheerful single.
Although the "You
Will" campaign achieved great success in predicting future technologies,
boosting stock prices, and receiving numerous awards, it fell short in one
crucial aspect. AT&T did not actually invent or bring any of the showcased
technologies to market. While they may have supported these technologies as a
communication giant, they do not hold patents on any of the idealized products.
While AT&T was working and developing some of these technologies at some
point, ultimately it was other companies who did the right research and
development necessary to bring them to fruition.
In conclusion, the 1993
"You Will" campaign by AT&T stands out as one of the most
accurate and insightful advertising campaigns in history. It successfully
predicted a wide range of technological advancements, and the realistic and
grounded style of the ads helped to make the showcased technology seem
achievable and desirable. The campaign boosted AT&T's stock for a time, and
they won many awards. However, while the campaign touted AT&T as a
harbinger of innovation and cutting-edge technology, the company did not
actually invent or create any of the technologies showcased in the ads.
Nevertheless, the "You Will" campaign remains a testament to the
power of advertising to inspire and shape the future.
Source list
AT&T.
"Predicting The Future Of Tech AT&T’s You Will". About.Att.Com,
2018, https://about.att.com/newsroom/2018/you_will.html.
Accessed 28 Apr 2023.
Macrotrends.
"AT&T 39 Year Stock Price History. "Macrotrends.Net, 2023,
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/T/at-t/stock-price-history. Accessed
28 Apr 2023.
WaybackMachine."AT&T
Release,1994/9/14, AT&T You Will Ads On Internet."
AT&T
News Release, 1994-09-14, AT&T YOU WILL ads on Internet; users can enter
sweepstakes (archive.org) Accessed 28
Apr 2023.
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