Radio Shack pushing headsets for use in cars:
August 15, 2000 Cell-Phone Campaign Promotes
Headsets for Drivers on the Go
By SUZANNE VRANICA
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Look, Ma, no hands!
Cell-phone companies, feeling the heat from safety advocates alarmed by drivers who seem more intent on chatting than steering, increasingly are promoting the use of headsets in their advertising.
RadioShack Corp. recently began running a 30-second TV commercial featuring actress Teri Hatcher and Howie Long, former National Football League defensive end, promoting Sprint PCS and headset use.
"It's a good idea for the car, by the way. You know, two hands -- defensive driving. You should get one, Howie," Ms. Hatcher says, with a black headset attachment in her ear. "I'm glad to hear you're driving safer, Teri. I've seen you drive," Mr. Long responds sarcastically. Ms. Hatcher snaps back, " I'm a good driver, and with two hands I'm even better."
The debate has been raging for months, with some communities considering a ban on drivers using mobile phones. Critics got a lot of fuel in July, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came out with an advisory that automobile drivers refrain from using mobile phones and other electronic devices while on the road. It was the government's strongest statement yet that the gadgets distract motorists and make them more likely to cause accidents.
Headsets take center stage in a new RadioShack television advertisement.
RadioShack, based in Fort Worth, Texas, said it decided in January to incorporate the safety theme into its ads, because it was "aware of the regulation debate ... in local communities and in government," says Jim McDonald, senior vice president of marketing at RadioShack. "We chose to proactively say to our customers: We are going to take a leadership position here."
About 60% to 70% of RadioShack's wireless ads, ranging from mail fliers to newspaper inserts, now include safety messages about wearing a headset. Safety "has been our primary focus," says Mr. McDonald. "It just comes under RadioShack's corporate credo: Do the right thing, even when no one is looking."
Circle R Group, RadioShack's in-house agency, created the work.
Wireless companies "are in the business of promoting the use of wireless, but don't want to be associated with any safety transgressions," says Mark Lowenstein, an executive vice president at Yankee Group, a Boston market-research firm. "It's a smart thing to deal with the issue -- to promote responsible usage."
Verizon Wireless, a unit of Verizon Communications, formed by the combination of Bell Atlantic, GTE and Vodafone AirTouch, has been offering discounts on its wireless-phone headsets. One of its recent print ads reads, "Wireless Safety Special! 20% off wireless headsets."
According to a person close to the company, Verizon recently had discussions with its ad agency, True North Communications' Bozell Group, about incorporating the safety message into its TV commercials. Although plans are still on the drawing board, the company is evaluating two options. One involves developing a specific spot to address driving safety while another involves subtly incorporating more visuals with people using headsets in its advertisements, the person said.
We've "had a fairly long tradition with safety and advertising," says Jim Gerace, a spokesman for the wireless concern, noting that Verizon has challenged cell-phone manufacturers to include voice-activated dialing and two-way speakers in its phones. Verizon also developed an educational program that distributes driving safety videotapes to drivers' education classes.
There are about 100 million cell-phone users in the U.S., according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade group. Consumers spend an average of about 150 minutes a month on their cell phones, according to Yankee Group. And according to a 1999 survey of 4,000 wireless users, conducted by the research firm, some 60% to 70% of those 150 minutes occur in vehicles.
Headsets sales definitely have room to grow. International Data Corp., a research firm based in Framingham, Mass., polled 900 wireless users and found that only about 3% of respondents had purchased a hands-free system, although it was an improvement from its 1999 survey that showed only 1.8% reported buying one.
VoiceStream, the Bellevue, Wash., digital wireless phone service that uses actress Jamie Lee Curtis in its ads, doesn't currently have ads featuring hands-free products. But it does have promotional posters in stores that show a car being driven with two hands. The posters say, "Look Ma, No Hands" and "Free up your hands for more control of the road."
Other wireless concerns, looking to convey simple convenience, are showing how handy headsets can be outside the car. In a radio spot that began airing in July for SNET, a unit of SBC Communications, a woman complains about how clumsy her husband can be while cooking at a grill, and tries to ease his pain by giving him a headset so he can call his brother for advice. In a sarcastic voice she says: "First I bought a cordless phone so he can call his brother for help when he needs it, which is about every 10 minutes. But he dropped that phone on the hot grill one too many times. Two hands are always better than one."
Virginia Vann, SBC's vice president of strategic marketing, says the company is "promoting [headsets] for convenience as well as safety." The company also said that new ads will soon tout a free earplug attachment with cell-phone purchases. |
