BBDO (New York and Atlanta) is bringing you Martin Scorsese via a one of those “please turn your cell phones off” clips that run before a film. This is the first time Martin is pitching in for a public service announcement for AT&T’s Be Sensible wireless courtesy program. See the spot here. Previous spots featured Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Sydney Pollack.
Cliff Marks, president of Sales and chief marketing officer of National CineMedia, the cinema advertising and marketing company that brings AT&T’s wireless courtesy program to theaters nationwide, said: “To have someone of Scorsese’s stature lend his talents to our program is a testament to the power of this program and to the medium of cinema.”
Dude. You are so not saving the world here. A simple, “To have someone of Scorsese’s stature cost us a lot of money, but we think it will be worth it regardless” would of done.
A survey, conducted by The Nielsen Company, “revealed that more than 30 percent their respondents indicated that they either would not have silenced their phone or didn’t know if they would have if they hadn’t seen the AT&T spot. What’s more, 72 percent of those surveyed said they appreciate efforts that preserve the movie-going experience by minimizing wireless phone interruptions.”
Well, that’s some good PR for AT&T considering that the company is apparently screwing around with those in the Armed Forces.