I once had a professor talk about attack ads. His advice: “Don’t nick a testicle, cut their balls off.” Advise, no doubt, that the McGarry-Bowen creative team working on the Motorola Droid campaign already knew. Here’s the most recent Droid ad I’ve come across”

http://www.droidforums.net/pics/cnet-droid-ad.jpg

Here’s the copy:

“This is a world of “nope,” “nuh-uh,” and “sorry, Charlie.”

A world of smiling denial. Petty tyrannies that have made their way into our cell phones. Into the very way we choose to speak to another human being. There are dozens of doesn’ts. Doesn’t allow customization. Doesn’t run multiple apps. Doesn’t allow you to swap out batteries. doesn’t allow open development. These arrogant little devices are barely worth more than the pocket lint they rest upon. Because now there’s a phone so smart, so strong. So subservient to its user, it refuses to include “doesn’t” in its dictionary app.

In a world of doesn’t. Droid Does.

Isn’t it ironic that when I think of attack ads my mind immediately goes to Apple? Just think about all those somehow popular “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” commercials.

Microsoft, who seems used to getting crapped on, simply fought back with it’s own campaign about how people like being “PCs.” But I have yet to hear Apple’s response to the attacks from Motorola.

My question is, when it comes to advertising, is taking the high road safe? My guess is that it won’t be long before Apple changes the focus of their commercials from the App Store to how the device is the better choice.

- Jared Davis