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Torture by Vonage

November 29, 2012 by WendyB

I’m tortured by a television ad for Vonage phone service, in which customer Kimberly Klecza explains why she uses Vonage to call her Nana.

Kimberly really does say, “Letters and text messages are just thrown aside … conversations you don’t get rid of … they’re memories.” Yes, of course, there’s nothing like hearing a loved one’s voice, but letters do last longer than both voices and memories, do they not? Am I right or am I right?

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Filed Under: rants, TV

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gracey at Fashion for Giants says

    November 29, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    Oh my goodness. I thought that was just me! I hate that commercial; it doesn’t make any damned sense. A phone call is more permanent than a letter? Really?

    • WendyB says

      November 29, 2012 at 4:50 pm

      I HATE IT!!!!

  2. Megan Mae says

    November 29, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    I would much rather have a written letter than a hasty phone call! I hate talking on the phone for more than 5 minutes anyway.

    I also hate those swiffer commercials that have the sound like a balloon being chewed right at the beginning. It’s like the most awful squeak in the world!

  3. Megan Mae says

    November 29, 2012 at 4:58 pm

    I should also mention that holiday Kmart commercial that starts “The Lights that light the lights” etc. It plays like every 3-4 commercials, sometimes twice in one commercial break. OMG.

    • WendyB says

      November 29, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Oh, I KNOW!

  4. Rebecca says

    November 29, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    I’m so glad I’m not the only person bugged by that. Like you said, conversations are absolutely lovely, but letters can be cherished for a lifetime. A copywriter somewhere needs a talking to for that one.

  5. Marti says

    November 29, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    I totally agree with you I wish I had a lot of conversations from past in writing.
    Marti

  6. sulky kitten says

    November 29, 2012 at 7:03 pm

    Horribly fake!I hate that word nana as well. My grandmother was deaf as a post so a foghorn was required at all times.I can’t remember a conversation I had 5 minutes ago , but I treasure the letters my parents wrote me before they died.

  7. Kait says

    November 29, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    Thankfully I have not seen this piece of stupidity yet. There is a Mexican guy in the one we see here.

    I deliberatley force people to write letters & be my pen pal. It is important not to lose such things.

  8. Patti @ NotDeadYet Style says

    November 29, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    Thank you, WB!! I just saw that commercial today and had the same thought: what-the-what? I ain’t got no phone calls in my memory chests.

  9. Eli says

    November 29, 2012 at 10:40 pm

    Not to mention that Vonage is a total rip off. Can I add Ross’ Get your Sweater On commercial song in this commercial hate!

  10. Marla says

    November 30, 2012 at 6:42 am

    I hate most commercials anymore, and yes, you are right!

  11. Alice Olive says

    November 30, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Yep, that was a stupid line by Vonage.

    Erm, is it wrong to admit I’ve kept a few texts that I consider to be memories? Letters are definitely memories.

    This ad bugs me. Except it also makes me teary because she says “Nana”, which is what I called my grandmother, too.

    But I’m sticking with Verizon.

    • WendyB says

      November 30, 2012 at 2:55 pm

      I’ve kept texts too!

  12. ali says

    November 30, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    I will say… vonage is awesome! My family lives in Costa Rica and vonage is cheap and more reliable than skype. 😉

    Letters are wonderful… but right now the prevalence of e-books scare me more than the disappearance of letter writing.

    • WendyB says

      November 30, 2012 at 3:02 pm

      I’m glad their service is better than their ads!

  13. ali says

    November 30, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    scares*

  14. kimbba Walsh says

    December 17, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    I understand what you are all saying. But there comes a point in time when your grandmother is 89 years of age, does not know how to use email and she does not write letters anymore, plus she lives overseas. The only form of communication is the telephone and you can tell a lot by the voice. Vonage is great for that reason.

    • WendyB says

      December 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm

      Totally agree, but the commercial doesn’t make that point at all. Instead it says something that sounds batshit crazy.

  15. Don says

    December 29, 2012 at 1:13 pm

    Thankfully Vonage have deleted that idiotic bit about letters being less permanent than conversations from the latest version of the commercial airing in my market.

    The original irritated me more than any recent commercial I can remember. Not only was it technically wrong — I have fifty and hundred year old conversations via letters from lost gone relatives that I can be a part of generations later — but it was scripted so stupidly and patronizingly it chapped every time I heard it.

    Good riddance to it.

    • WendyB says

      December 29, 2012 at 3:07 pm

      Funny, just this morning I was thinking I needed to update this post, because I’ve noticed the edited commercial too! What a relief! It still sounds a little stupid, but at least the blatantly untrue, common-sense-defying lines are gone. REJOICE!

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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