In advertisements on hundreds of blogs, visitors are being encouraged to join a lawsuit against Alltel Corp. over a new discount-calling plan from the regional cellphone company. The plan, called My Circle, allows Alltel customers to designate up to 10 phone numbers that can be called for free, regardless of the cellphone carrier they're affiliated with.
"Have you been added to an Alltel My Circle without your consent? Join our class-action lawsuit and let our experience help to recover your losses," reads one version of the ad.
The content of the ad seemed controversial and worried Walter Olson when it was submitted to his popular legal blog, Overlawyered. He recalls that when he first saw it, he thought, "It'd be the first time I'd have to reject an ad."
Then Mr. Olson did some online digging and discovered that the ad was a spoof, part of an elaborate marketing campaign designed by the Little Rock, Ark., cellular company. The ads link to a Web site for the People Against My Circle Foundation – also an Alltel creation – while another faux site carries play-by-play reports from the court battle.
But the ad campaign may be too clever for its own good: Some bloggers have refused to carry the ads about the lawsuit, and others have been hesitant. Many blog visitors, meanwhile, have expressed confusion over the ads in online forums, with some asking: Who's Alltel? (The company isn't well known to consumers outside the states where it offers service.)
