Schooling Comcast

Seth Stevenson grades Comcasts’s most recent advertising campaign on Slate.com. Stevenson, noting the difficulties of a company trying to create a virtual brand community when its real community is facing real problems, writes:

“Who on earth would become a Comcast enthusiast? Who hangs out at a Comcast Web site and rearranges pretend furniture? Or, put more broadly: What sane person forms a loving attachment to a cable behemoth?

I just don’t think this is a category where warm, fuzzy emotions come into play. I want my cable, Internet, and phone to work. That’s all. And, among people I know, Comcast has developed a reputation for … not working.”

The Reporter’s Notebook has documented its experiences with Comcast here, here and here. Stevenson gives the campaign a C+. I fear my own personal bias wouldn’t allow me to be so kind.