On paper, it's a compelling concept: Carly Foulkes, T-Mobile's longtime girl in pink, pitching the new iPhone 5 as part of the company's big new campaign.
But Foulkes doesn't appear in two new T-Mobile ads, nor as part of the branding on its web site.
We asked T-Mobile to say it ain't so — Foulkes is a huge part of the T-Mobile brand equity — and we'll update this item if we get a comment from the company.
But for now, Foulkes has disappeared.
One possibility is that Foulkes is being given a brief rest because the company really wants consumers to focus on the iPhone 5 and the pricing part of the company's offer. She can, of course, return once the campaign is beyond its initial launch stage. But we noticed that she wasn't at the big press launch for the new strategy, either, even though she is believed to live in New York where the event was held.
Separately, the new front page of the T-Mobile web site calls the company's past strategy "clueless." Here's a screengrab:
The headline, "T-Mobile has left the clueless-cellular-company building," refers to the company's new pricing strategy.
T-Mobile has been wanting to offer the iPhone for years and later in April it will finally be able to sell the Apple phone to customers. In addition, T-Mobile is introducing a new pricing structure, offering the iPhone 5 without a contract.
Foulkes + iPhone 5 + simple pricing would appear to equal a killer, "sells itself" marketing prospect.
Yet the company's launch ads — from Publicis Seattle — feature a bunch of cowboys who resolve to stop pushing people around (as other wireless carriers do with their lon-term contracts) and The Daily Show's Jason Jones, delivering a faux report on what people don't know about phone contracts (see videos below).
Foulkes was last seen as "No More Mr. Nice Girl," a campaign in which she ditched her pink summer dresses in favor of pink-and-black biker leathers. She zoomed around the country on a sports bike and in a helicopter to emphasize T-Mobile's coverage quality.
But in an ad posted on YouTube Feb. 25 (Foulkes' final appearance?) she disappears on her bike down a long city street, into the night.
Never to be seen again ...?
Here's the new cowboys ad:
And here's the Spero ad:
Finally, here's Foulkes' last appearance:
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