Alltel blog advertising

I’ve been meaning to write about blog advertising done by mobile phone company Alltel. But seems other folks have done a good job covering it, so I’ll just be a blogger and link.

Ever the copywriter, Steve Hall at Adrants says, “Some witty copy turns the tables and makes the argument that paying to call your friends is better because it will eliminate turning people into gaggling idiots and somehow lead to anarchy.”

Writing at AdAge Ken Wheaton wants to hate the campaign but keeps clicking:

On a personal level, we’re getting fed up with ridiculous viral efforts (see the billboard post below), yet we bit. We found ourselves at the site of PAMCF, the People Against My Circle Foundation. Yawn. Snooze. We will admit, though, that Edward Maxwell Von Houten is our kind of guy–a crank that mocks friendship and urges litigants to do it “for the children … Or the puppies, kittens, dolphins, or whatever other defenseless creatures elicit an emotional response from you.”

And today, Andrew Lavallee gives WSJ readers the full scoop, deconstructing all the campaigns nuances and richochets. He quotes campaign auteur Brian Clark with the money line, “curiosity is a great way to start a relationship with the audience.” The ads have been running on about 400 law, humor and entertainment blogs since early July.