Is Third Time a Charm for Sprint?
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
The visual concept of the Sprint Speed TV spots are a good match for the concept and give more depth to the brand promise and benefits. The production effect is terrific and the spots are entertaining to watch.
They’ve done a good job leveraging it online as well at the SprintAhead.com site where you can see all the spots and create an e-card that uses the stop-action technique. But for me, the real impact and leverage comes from a somewhat stealth Sprint site, waitless.org, that has popped up giving people tips on how to save time in their daily lives.
The slogan at the top of the page says: “Fast-forward through the boring parts of life.”
Then it provides a daily video called a “Sprintcut.” Like one called “Speedy Sorbet,” which shows you how to make sorbet with a scoop of orange juice, ice and a couple of zip lock bags. But the “How to peel an egg” is my favorite.
The various videos claim to save you “days” of your life, or as Sprint claims: “Turn tedious tasks into fleeting moments with Sprintcuts — tips that’ll refund your time and amaze your friends.”
Of course nothing comes without warnings.
The fine print says that Sprintcuts should not be attempted at home, but “Oh wait, that’s what they’re for! But seriously … Sprint is not responsible for the outcome of any attempted time-saving maneuvers. Actual time saved may vary.”
The effort is well integrated and well done. And the technique is very cool, but I wonder about the strength of the message and whether it will stick this time. Granted it’s light years better than Sprint’s last effort, “power up”, but this is the third rebranding effort for the carrier in as many years.