• by Les Luchter , August 25, 2023

“Yada yada,” a phrase immortalized by a 1997 “Seinfeld” episode, is defined as a “substitute for actual words [that] are too lengthy or tedious to recite in full.”

Such is the case with cell phone contracts, according to “Nada Yada Yada,” a new campaign from Metro, T-Mobile’s prepaid brand. “Nada yada yada means wireless without the gotcha,” a :30 spot declares. “No contracts, no price hikes, no surprises.” Creative is by OKRP, which replaced Saatchi & Saatchi as Metro by T-Mobile’s agency of record in April.

Of course, parent T-Mobile is not a villain here. Indeed, that wireless giant has already dispensed with contracts and price hikes. Rather, as made clear in a related sweepstakes called the “Broadband BS Fund," Metro is following T-Mobile's crusade against cable Internet Service Providers (ISPs.)

Targeting Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile specifically, the Broadband BS Fund promises to “reimburse some of the millions of cable customers experiencing -- or soon to experience -- the yada yada of exploding wireless bills.”

Metro by T-Mobile has set aside up to $1 million that will be given out in the form of $45 Visa eRewards Cards on a first-come, first-serve basis to consumers who share their stories of “Big Cable trauma” at www.broadbandbsfund.com. That works out to some 20,222 cable customers.

One of the stipulations is that the stories can be used in “future marketing campaigns.”

In addition to soliciting “yada” about “Big Cable” wireless, Metro is also inviting stories about Big Cable home internet.

“Spectrum and Xfinity wrote the Big Cable playbook on price hikes,” the website explains, “and now they’re bringing their annoying plays to wireless, luring customers in with introductory promos and hitting them with exploding bills when they expire.”

“Many Spectrum Mobile customers will see their wireless bills balloon by as much as $360 per year, starting next month when Spectrum’s sneaky ‘introductory’ promo expires,” Metro elaborates in a press release. “It’s infuriating. And it’s classic Cable.”

In addition to entering the sweepstakes, the Broadband BS Fund includes another call-to-action: “If you're ready to break up with Big Cable, bring your phone and number to a Metro store and get one line of Unlimited 5G for just $25 per month.”

The "Nada Yada" TV spot is running on network TV, including ABC, NBC, and CBS, as well as NFL Network, HGTV, Hallmark, streaming platforms and more. There’s also a Spanish-language :30 running on Galavision, NBC Universo, Telemundo, TUDN, Unimas and Univision.

The campaign also encompasses digital, owned and paid social channels, in-store, out-of-home, radio -- and “environmental,” which includes employee attire and on-hold audio.