When I saw three full page ads the following week I knew something was up, and I was also annoyed by the (c)TM logo, which is just ridiculous.

My annoyance turned to anger when I realized the whole thing was a setup, and my anger turned to outright indignation when it was pointed out that their “4Gs” network isn’t 4G at all. Now when I see Trevor’s promises to “keep an eye on Cell C” I just think the whole thing is dishonest and bogus. And when I hear Trevor’s voice on the voice mail messages I cringe.

Trevor may know how to imitate Julius Malema, but he knows squat about cell phones. And Cell C’s ad agency knows squat about the basics of social media: keep it honest. That’s why “United Breaks Guitars” worked. It was honest, funny and we could relate to it.

Is it really so difficult for ad agencies to NOT LIE in their ads? Are all advertising executives compulsive liars, like estate agents and car salesmen? It’s a sad reflection on our society that we tolerate such blatant dishonesty.

Great article.

I think, that this approach to using Social Media to create a ‘false’ hype, has worked very well for the Cell C brand. Whether or not people were aware of the initial ‘bad press’ that Cell C got, the truth is, they have driven very hard at repositioning themselves through a new branding strategy, while at the same time, knocking the entire South African Cellular market and opening themselves up to receiving all industry criticism and being the proverbial industry ear.

I agree that this probably wasn’t a true Social Media Campaign, but it is marketing initiatives like this, that definitely force the general public (those socially aware and not), to sit up, take note and listen.

Well done Cell C.