Wireless service providers Total Wireless and TextNow have launched their first new TV ads of 2021. For Total Wireless, it's the Tracfone brand's first new TV ad launch since early last year. The new ad entitled "Student Senior Dance Recital" highlights some recent changes at the provider like 5G network accessibility.
Meanwhile, TextNow ran a steady stream of ads in 2020 touting its free wireless plan and the ability to use TextNow as a secondary phone number. The firm Wave7 Research just reported to its subscribers that TextNow's latest ad entitled "Get Goyning," is not all that different. It again exclaims to viewers that they can use the service to get a free 2nd phone number.
Total Wireless TV Ad "Student Senior Dance Recital"
At the end of 2020, Total Wireless soft-launched the release of 5G wireless network access. SIM and refill cards began to show up with 5G branding in some Walmart stores as did 5G branding on their in-store Total Wireless displays.
The in-store branding was followed up with more recent 5G branding on the Total Wireless website. And now, launched just days ago, is a new commercial highlighting the 5G network.
The new commercial informs viewers that Total Wireless helped a dance instructor and her students be able to perform their senior dance recital virtually. This was all thanks to 5G network access on the instructor's iPhone 12. Viewers are then told they can get 4 lines of unlimited talk, text, and data for $25/month per line and save up $1200 a year (Total Wireless's 4 line plan includes 100GB of shared high-speed data before throttling to 2G data speeds). The commercial ends with a new tagline, "Total Wireless, Do Amazing." This is similar to Total Wireless's homepage where the tagline "Do even more amazing with 5G" is used. The previous tagline was "Total Wireless. Total Confidence."
Check out the new commercial below.
Although Total Wireless is now advertising that it has 5G network access, its selection of 5G capable phones is extremely minimal, and none of them are particularly budget-friendly. The Samsung Galaxy S20 5G is available for $999, the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G is $1199 and the Ultra model is $1399. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G is $999.99 and the Ultra model is $1299.99. The iPhone 12 Mini is $729.99 and the Pro is $1099.99.
TextNow "Get Goyning"
TextNow's first TV ad of 2021 features two women talking about "Goyning." No goyn?" says one to the other. That's followed with a "semi goyning," and later, "now we're goyning," as they seem to be talking about potential dates. The ad finishes with the acronym "G.O.Y.N" in bold letters, and it stands for "give out your number." Viewers are told they can give out their number at any time with a second number from TextNow. The TextNow app is available for download on both Android and iOS. You can watch the commercial below.
What's particularly interesting about this commercial is that once again TextNow is advertising to viewers that they can get a free second phone number. TextNow offers subscribers unlimited talk and text for free through an ad-supported app. Subscribers can upgrade to an ad-free experience for $9.99. The company must be doing extremely well between collecting ad-revenue and getting customers to upgrade to ad-free given that it can afford to frequently advertise the plan on TV.
Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research added: "Total Wireless had not done any TV advertising since March, so TV advertising seems like something the MVNO only does during tax season. TextNow seems to be convinced that there is solid demand for secondary lines, as they are spending a lot of ad dollars to address that demand."