Campaign Showcases Company's Leadership in International Wireless Services

DALLAS, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers have put their hands together for 'Hands,' a popular AT&T* ad campaign that touts the company's international wireless leadership, by voting it 'America's Favorite Magazine Ad' in a new contest sponsored by Magazine Publishers of America.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090701/CG41193)

The 'America's Favorite Magazine Ad' competition is a spin-off of Magazine Publishers of America's prestigious Kelly Awards, which recognizes outstanding magazine ad campaigns as determined by leaders in the advertising industry. 'America's Favorite Magazine Ad' was created to give consumers an opportunity to vote for their own favorites based on creative excellence. AT&T's 'Hands' beat out campaigns by 26 other leading brands.

In the 'Hands' campaign, created by BBDO, human hands are intricately painted and posed to depict iconic images representing countries around the world that fall within AT&T's international footprint. The result is stunning imagery that draws viewers into the artwork while communicating AT&T's brand proposition of having more phones that work in more places.

Acclaimed artist Guido Daniele of Milan, Italy paints the hands, a process that can take up to a full day. Examples have included hands painted and arranged to become the Great Wall of China; the Rialto Bridge (Venice, Italy); elephants (India); tulips (Netherlands) and an exotic bird among trees (Costa Rica), among many other executions. In total, more than 17 iterations have been released since the campaign debuted in 2008.

The 'Hands' ads have been heralded by consumers and the public throughout the life of the campaign. Last year, for example, AT&T provided huge reprints of 'Hands' images at the request of a Georgia camp for children with cancer that was dressing its cabins for their summer theme of 'Around the World.'

'It's one thing to cut through the clutter. It's quite another to inspire people to stop and stare at your message, or to go a step further and write you to request copies -- both of which we know are a possibility when people see our 'Hands' ads,' said Daryl Evans, vice president of advertising and marketing communications for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.