MTN adverts insult Cell C and invade Vodacom turf

The advertising campaign seems to be directed at Vodacom since it advises customers who have a malfunctioning mobile phone to “go back” and visit their walk-in and repair service centre on Richard’s Drive, which is only an 11 minute drive (7km) south of Vodacom World in Midrand.MTN seems actively on a mission to conquer their competitors using their current semi-comparative advertising campaign without mentioning any names.

South Africa’s third largest network, Cell C was also targeted by MTN’s advertising campaign through radio adverts prior to the invasion of Vodacom World.

Cell C launched their “papa’s got a brand new pack” campaign earlier this year and MTN’s latest radio adverts suggest Cell C’s new “99c For Real” pricing structure is inferior.

MTN said its “MTN Zone Mahala” has “the most attractive rates” that “are applicable at various times of the day which allows customers flexibility for when they would like to call.”

“The new pricing announced by competitors would in fact be uncompetitive based on our customers’ current usage,” explained MTN.

Following this, MTN released their radio adverts which feature Cell C’s “papa” and ultimately dismisses Cell C’s product as inferior.

Cell C CEO, Alan Knott-Craig responded to MTN’s radio ad campaign by telling BusinessTech: “It’s nice that someone else is paying for our advertising.”

Chris Moerdyk, a leader in South African marketing, explained to mybroadband these telecommunication companies are not engaging in comparative advertising since the only comparisons being made are “couched in innuendo” because they are not allowed to make use of comparative advertising in the country.

Source: HumanIPO