• NYTimes, Wednesday, November 9, 2005 12:45 PM

A new series of wireless companies is going after the young, early adapter tech set, running marketing campaigns to arouse interest among this small but lucrative audience. These new companies, called mobile virtual network operators, operate over high-speed mobile networks, which will effectively provide consumers with broadband speeds on their mobile phones. As The New York Times points out, one of the new mobile companies, called Amp'd, is pitching its new cell phone as a reason to live: "Try not to die. Amp'd Mobile is coming." Amp'd uses Verizon Wireless' high speed network, which will allow its consumers to download information at much faster speeds than a standard Verizon network. Taxi, the agency that created the morbid ad, said the campaign was meant to have a polarizing effect on audiences. Ads will run in magazines and on cable channels like Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV and Spike. Amp'd is aggressively going after young audiences, but they're not the only ones: Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, Helio and Mobile ESPN are all also hoping to corner the youth market. Meanwhile, ESPN has recently embarked on a TV and Web campaign for Mobile ESPN, and upstart Helio has recently purchased the services of Deutsch to handle its $50 million account.

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