• by Aaron Baar , July 21, 2011

Known more for watches and other personal electronics, Casio is taking to the airwaves for the first time to advertise its phones with an advertising campaign showing off the toughness of its G'zOne Commando Android-powered smartphone.

The television and Internet video campaign, with the tagline "Tougher is Smarter," depicts the phone going through a series of real-life tests designed to show off its military-grade specifications, which include being able to withstand extreme temperatures, vibration, drops and submersion.

"It's trying to show [that] the phone has been tested in these environments," Charlotte Runco, a representative for Casio, tells Marketing Daily. "This phone can withstand these extreme situations."

The vignettes depict the phone being put through a series of tests, such as being strapped to a surfboard, attached to the undercarriage of a sports car, being taken on a trail run and enduring a "hot yoga" class. The spots employ the question, "Are you Commando tough?"

The effort is targeted at consumers who lead an active lifestyle and don't want to worry about their phones (with a secondary target at anyone prone to clumsiness and mishaps with their devices), Runco says.

The television commercials began this week, airing on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live. The commercials will during a wide variety of programming, including during ABC's "Expedition Impossible," as well as on cable networks such as Spike, Fuel, the Military Network, the Outdoor Channel and ESPN. The brand has also signed on as a sponsor of the X-Games, which will air on ESPN on July 28-31.