• July 1, 2003

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Council for Utility Choice announced Tuesday a new TV public awareness spot and billboard ads in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The campaign is part of the CUC's integrated consumer-education initiative to educate Pennsylvanians about local telephone competition. A new 30-second TV public awareness spot, "Predictions," spoofs unusual predictions people have forecast over the past several decades. The ad shows a group of scientists who predict children will be picked up from school on jetpacks; an astronaut who talks about colonizing Mars by 1970; a trade show promoter who claims a person will be able to eat a whole turkey by swallowing a single capsule; a '70s game show host predicting we'll be able to choose a local telephone company; and a voiceover that says, "Hey, at least one of them came true." The ads are now running in Harrisburg and Philadelphia and will begin airing in the Pittsburgh region on Sept. 8. In addition to the TV advertisements, a series of billboards -- which include various calls to action such as "Use Your Voice," "In PA, You Call the Shots," and "Speak Up" -- will emerge in high-traffic areas in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh beginning July 1. The billboard campaign will conclude at the end of October.

The campaign will also feature the three ads shown throughout 2002 and early 2003: "Runway," "Essay" and "Lawn Guy." This campaign won the Art Directors Creative Awards, for the Philadelphia region, for best TV campaign and swept the TV category in awards. Each spot took top awards -- winning a gold, silver and bronze. The campaign also won a silver and bronze in the ADDYS competition, for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.