AT&T Shows What’s Wrong With Settling for Just an ‘OK’ Network

AT&T’s “Just OK Is Not OK” campaign, which is centered around a series of humorous broadcast ads voiced by Lena Waithe, demonstrates the importance of not settling for just OK.

In “Tattoo,” for example, an artist tells a man getting his first tattoo that he’s “one of the tattoo artists in the city” and that the result is going to look “OK.”

The stakes are even higher when a patient learns some disconcerting information about his surgeon.

Other spots in the campaign include a restaurant offering “OK” sushi, a less-than-stellar babysitter and mechanics with a troubling saying about brakes.

A series of online and social ads extends the approach to boxing, cooking and getaway drivers.

The integrated campaign created by an Omnicom team that includes BBDO, Critical Mass, Hearts & Science and Organic made its broadcast debut during the College Football Playoff and will run throughout January. Multicultural agency Dieste also created a dedicated Hispanic campaign.

“Just OK Is Not OK” follows AT&T’s cinematic, genre-blending “More for Your Thing” ads last summer and fall.

While the campaign arguably confuses OK with flat-out bad, it provides an adaptable premise to build on in the future while communicating AT&T’s selling point and implicitly relegating competitors to dubious OK status. It could potentially prove to be a long-running, entertaining premise that helps differentiate the brand as the 5G network wars heat up.

CREDITS:

Advertiser: AT&T
Marc Burns: VP, Advertising & Social Media
Dave Brown: Director Of Advertising
Mariel Llenza: Director Of Advertising
Connie Mertens: Director, Digital
Suzanne Ciamillo: Associate Director, Digital
Sujei Sierra: Lead Manager, Hispanic
Stephanie Mejia: Senior Manager, Hispanic
Chris Lambert: Lead Advertising Manager
Taylor Laughlin: Sr. Advertising Manager

Creative Agency: BBDO
Chief Creative Officer BBDO Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer BBDO New York: Greg Hahn
Group Executive Creative Director: Matt MacDonald
Executive Creative Director: David Povill
Executive Creative Director: David Cuccinello
Associate Creative Director: Ben Salas
Senior Copywriter: Steven Nass
Director Of Integrated Production: David Rolfe
Group Executive Producer: Julie Collins
Executive Producer: Angela Narloch
Junior Producer: Briana Hemphill
Business Manager: Meg Foley
EVP, Managing Director: Doug Walker
EVP, Managing Director: Rachel Nairn
SVP, Senior Director: David McKenzie
Account Director: Patrick Jones
Account Executive: Leah Pozin
VP, Director Of Project Management: Colin Vidika
Head Of Integrated Planning, EVP: Angela Jones
Head Of Brand Planning, EVP: Tim Millar
Senior Brand Strategist: Alex Morrison

Media Agency: Hearts & Science
President, Hearts Bbdo Team, AT&T: Ralph Pardo
Hearts & Science, Executive Bus. Director: Tavo Castro
Hearts & Science, Senior Director: Alina Kulesza
Hearts & Science, Media Director: Chantal Villain
Hearts & Science, Media Director: Natalie Polanger

Production Company: Moxie Pictures
Director: Martin Granger
Executive Producer: Karol Zeno
Line Producer: Heidi Soltesz
Staff Production Supervisor: Jodi Fisher
Director Of Photography: Barry Peterson
Production Designer: Ken Averill
Production Manager: Jane Van Dyke
Production Coordinator: Dan Woodstra

Casting Company: Grande/Morris & Ross Lacy Casting
Casting Director – LA: Ross Lacy
Casting Director – NY: David Morris

Editorial Company: Cabin Edit
Editor: Chan Hatcher
Editor: Randy Baublis
Executive Producer: Carr Schilling
Producer: Liz Lydecker

Visual Effects Company: The Mill
Executive Producer: Anastasia Von Rahl
VFX Producer: Andrew Gilson

Graphic Design Company Brand New School
Producer Jackson Rogers

Graphic Design Company LVLY
Producer Bryce Edwards

Color Company: CO3
Colorist: Siggy Ferstl

Music Company: Beacon Street Studios
Executive Producer/creative Director: Leslie DiLullo
Producer: Andrew Feltenstein

Sound Design & Mix: Lime Studios
Engineer: Mark Meyuhas
Producer: Susie Boyajan

Digital/Social

Creative Agency: Organic
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Kelly
Executive Creative Director: Frank Dattalo
Creative Director: Dimitri Kalagas
Associate Creative Director: Kendra Jones
Associate Creative Director: Rance Randle
Senior Copywriter: Will Danilow
Bbdo Group Executive Producer: Kristin Tomborello
Bbdo Producer: Laura Cray
Group Account Director: Heather Livengood
Account Supervisor: Brittany Luhrsen
Account Executive: Janelle Bongiovanni
Senior Project Manager: Nicole Vallecillo

Creative Agency: Critical Mass
CCo: Conor Brady
Creative Director: Christiaan Welzel & Andrew Lavery
Group Strategy Director: Jared Folkmann
Senior Copywriter: Jeff Kubik
Senior Designer: Steven Beyer
Senior Designer: Jon Temple
Designer: Dasha Pushkar
Designer: Kyle Scott
Designer: Taylor Lumley
Designer Luis Pombo
Designer: Dasha Pushkar
Producer: Sarah Dinham
Vice President, Client Partner: Olivia Widjaya

Production Company: Partizan
Director: Peter Carstairs
Managing Director / Executive Producer: Lisa Tauscher
Executive Producer/Head of Production: Molly Griffin
Line Producer: Suzie Greene-tedesco
Director Of Photography: Eric Schmidt
Production Designer: Stephen Sumney
Casting Director: Dan Cowan

Casting Company: Broad-cast
Casting Director: Dan Cowan

Editorial Company: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Matthew Hilber
Assistant Editor: Nelson Mustain
Senior Producer: Annie Maldonado
Executive Producer: Joanna Manning

Visual Effects Company: Carbon VFX
Executive Producer: Matthew Mcmanus
Producer:
Set Supervisor/lead Flame: John Price

Color Company: Carbon VFX
Colorist: Aubrey Woodiwiss
Executive Producer: Matthew Mcmanus
Color Assistant: Brianna Brackett

Music Company: APM Music

Sound Design & Mix: Lime Studios
Engineer: Rohan Young
Assistant Mixer: Ben Tomastik
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

Production Company: Critical Mass Wander

Director: John Grammatico
VP, Executive Producer: Alissa Hansen
Producer: Evonna Sweis
Director Of Photography: Tom Kucy
Production Manager: Robyn Ho
Post Production Supervisor: Chantelle Kolesnik

Other Credits
Creative Agency: Dieste
Chief Creative Officer: Ciro Sarmiento
Creative Director: Benjamin Jara
Senior Copywriter: Carlos Ortega
Senior Art Director: Sergio Rojas
Executive Producer: John Costello
Associate Executive Producer: Jorge Urdiain
Business Manager: Lanae Taylor
Managing Director: Lonnie Limon
Group Account Director: Beatrice Sagari Rossi
Account Director: Margarita Flores
Account Supervisor: Yamile Mahomed
Senior Account Executive: Anthony Perez

Planning Director: Natalia Casas
Planning Director: Christina Harris
Account Planner: Gabi Reynolds

Production Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Max Sherman
Executive Producer: Lori Stonebraker
Line Producer: Greg Jones
Staff Production Supervisor: Greg Epstein
Director Of Photography: Autumn Durald
Production Designer: Philip Messina
Production Manager:
Production Coordinator:

Casting Company LA / NY: RMB Casting / Beth Melsky
Casting Director – LA:
Casting Director – NY:

Editorial Company: Pixel Power
Editor: Pablo Piriz
Executive Producer: Pablo Piriz
Producer:

Graphic Design Company Brand New School
Producer Jackson Rogers

Color Company: MPC

Sound Design & Mix: Deaf Mule