Sanyo Fisher Co., Chatsworth, CA, and Sprint PCS, Kansas City, MO, began a print campaign for the Sprint PCS Phone SCP-5000 by Sanyo, which is the first mobile phone with a color screen.
The campaign will concentrate on ads in consumer publications, newspapers and in-flight magazines. The ads direct consumers to get more information by visiting the Sprint or Sanyo Web sites, calling a toll-free number or visiting their local Sprint retail location. First-time subscribers to the phone service will receive an offer of a free battery charger.
The ads use an image of the Statue of Liberty holding up the new phone instead of the torch, with a picture of Lady Liberty on the display screen. The headline on the ad reads, “Oh, say, can you see,” referring to the phone's option of having the ringer customized to the person calling.
The ads began running April 1 in in-flight magazines such as DeltaSky and Northwest Traveler, and they also will appear in the June issues of Maxim, InStyle and GQ. An ad will run in USA Today on May 17. Ads also will run in city magazines in New York, Los Angeles and other selected markets.
The phone, which is priced at $499.95, has a two-inch, 256-color display. It can store up to 20 digital color photos of family, friends or business associates and can be synchronized with an on-screen photo caller-ID for select incoming calls. The ringer also can be personalized to the incoming call. If someone is a fan of the Rolling Stones, for example, one of the group's songs can be programmed to play when that person calls.
It also offers one-touch Sprint PCS Wireless Web access, voice-activated dialing, menu-driven navigation and an external caller-ID screen. Users can download five images for use as wallpaper.
Other features of the Sprint PCS Phone SCP-5000 include full Spanish text and Spanish voice prompt options; a phone book that stores up to 300 entries and nine numbers per entry; a scheduler/calendar with to-do list and event manager; and a call log that captures the last 10 incoming, 10 outgoing and 10 missed calls.
