Report: AT&T had the most effective TV ads among wireless carriers in the past month

AT&T Mobility (NYSE: T) dominated the past month in terms of having TV advertising that consumers were sharing online and talking about, according to a report from TV advertising measurement firm iSpot.tv. The ads covered a variety of different AT&T initiatives and marketing plans and beat out new ads from Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS). Sprint (NYSE: S) did not have an ad that cracked iSpot.tv's top five rankings for advertising effectiveness in the past month.

From mid-August to mid-September, AT&T's ads were ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the top five most-engaging ads from wireless carriers, based on combined online views, social media actions and online search. AT&T captured more than 50 percent of the overall share of "voice" by itself.

According to iSpot.tv, AT&T's three ads collectively generated more than 800,000 online views, more than 10,000 social actions, and nearly 35,000 online searches.

The most effective ad, which iSpot.tv said captured 21.5 percent of the collective voice in the period measured, was AT&T's main ad that it put out following its acquisition of DirecTV. The minute-long ad shows screens in New York City's Times Square going dark, turning back on with Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz saying, "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," as well as other movie clips showing up on smartphones and smart watches that emphasize a transformation is taking place. The ad highlights the AT&T/DirecTV combination and says that the companies will bring TV and wireless together and take entertainment to places consumers wouldn't have imagined.

The second most effective ad shows a car accident unfolding in reverse and is pegged aground AT&T's long-running "It Can Wait" campaign against distracted driving, which the carrier launched in 2010. The ad features a mother checking her phone for a work-related email with her daughter in the back seat before having a head-on-collision. The commercial, which garnered 19.6 percent of the collective voice in the period measured, then goes on say that no email, post, glance or search is worth a life.

AT&T's third ad on the list features a song "Closer" by Tegan and Sara and highlights its new Mobile Share Value plans, which the carrier launched in mid-August. The biggest change AT&T made to its plans is that its previous $100/10 GB plan now comes with 15 GB of data. The ad, which got 9.9 percent of the collective social voice in the period, features many teenagers who are presumably gobbling up that data.

It wasn't a clean sweep by AT&T, however. Verizon's new "A Better Network" ad features Luke McCown, the backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. McCown talks about how Verizon has backup generators for most of its cell towers to be ready if the power goes out. He then cheekily ads, "I wonder why they save those backups, and not just put them in the regular rotation. I bet if they just had the chance, some of those backups would really shine." The ad, which debuted earlier this month as the National Football League season was starting, highlights not only Verizon's focus on marketing its network reliability but also its partnership with the NFL. According to iSPot.tv, the ad capture 6.5 percent of the total social voice in the period.

T-Mobile rounded out the top five with its ad touting its family plan that offers 10 GB of data per line, for four lines for $120 per month in service charges. The carrier launched the plans in mid-July and has been steadily marketing them all summer. The ad highlights that unlike the other Tier 1 carriers, T-Mobile does not make its family plan customers share data between themselves. Additionally, the ad, which got 5.7 percent of the social voice in the period, also notes that T-Mobile will pay up to $650 per line for customers to switch, trade in their phones and buy a new one.

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