Heading into tax season several more providers have either restarted TV advertising or increased their advertising spend. Last month BestMVNO reported that Total Wireless began airing its first new TV ad in almost a year. A prepaid report just issued by the firm Wave7 Research indicated that Total Wireless has released several more new TV ads. The ads are airing on various networks nationwide.
Also in the Wave7 Research report were details on new TV ad launches from both H2O Wireless and Boost Mobile. H2O Wireless had not aired any major TV ads in several years but recently began airing an ad in a limited number of markets targeting Houston and Chicago. For Boost Mobile, it marks the end of a hiatus when the company went from 1/5 to 3/2 without airing any TV commercials.
Total Wireless TV Ads: Do Amazing
In all, Total Wireless has aired 4 different TV ads since 1/27. That's a far cry from the latter half of 2020 when the brand was not airing any. Total Wireless's new commercials all feature the tagline "Do Amazing." The tagline for the commercials aired last year was “Total Wireless. Total confidence.” The most recent commercials began airing in the middle of February and some of the ads are broken up into 15s and 30s variants.
One new 15s variant titled "Set Your Smartphone Free:5G" informs viewers that Total Wireless now has 5G. Viewers are also told to "set your smartphone free with the Total Wireless unlimited plans." Customers are then pitched Total Wireless's 4-lines with 100GB of shared data for $100 offer. Check it out below.
There's also an extended 30s version which you can watch here.
Another ad that aired over the last several weeks is titled "Invitation." This one tells viewers that "Total Wireless is more than a wireless company. It's an invitation to a surprise baby shower, a seat at a piano recital," and more. It features people video chatting with one another and tells viewers that switching to Total Wireless can save them up to $1200 per year. Watch it below.
H2O Wireless's New TV Ad Pitches $99 iPhone SE
H2O Wireless's newest ad entitled "iPhone SE for $99" pitches the obvious. It also tells viewers that AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile "overcharge you for data that you'll never need and perks you'll never use." Interestingly, the ad does use each carrier's cheapest unlimited plan to compare itself against as opposed to using their most expensive plans which would further widen the price gap between H2O Wireless and the carrier plans. The ad highlights H2O Wireless's $36/month plan with autopay ($40 without) that includes unlimited talk and text to 70 countries plus 15GB of high-speed data. Here is the ad below.
Boost Mobile's New Ads Are Airing On TV And Through Digital Platforms
Boost Mobile began airing a new TV ad nationwide on 3/2. The ad is entitled "More Power." The 30s commercial tells viewers that "money is power, so Boost Mobile finds ways to help you keep more of it." The ad pitches Boost's offer of 3 unlimited lines with 35GB of high-speed data for $90/month and a free LG Stylo 6 for switchers "all on America's largest 5G network." Boost Mobile uses T-Mobile's network.
The commercial also airs in Spanish.
Also airing through digital channels is a shorter version of the commercial. A 15-second variant launched just days ago has been viewed more than 735,000 times and is on display through Boost Mobile's YouTube channel. There's also a Spanish variant that has been viewed more than 56,000 times over the last several days.
Editor's Take
The wave of new commercials is certainly not surprising for this time of year. The first week of March is when many Americans will begin to receive their tax returns. So many providers look to capitalize on that by pitching new offers to prospective customers with their newly found cash on hand.
"There is always a surge of advertising for prepaid wireless during tax season. What's different this year is that some carriers followed the traditional marketing calendar for this, while Boost Mobile kept its powder dry, waiting until March to launch TV advertising. This is the latest tax season ever and Boost understands that." -- Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research
Before Dish bought Boost you could get a family plan with 5 unlimited lines and 12 GB of Hotspot per line for $100/month. Now Dish has reduced that to 3 lines for $100.
Reduced competition allows Dish to raise prices.