Do You Remember ‘You Will’?

You Will 

I don't know how many of you will remember this set of commercials from the early 1990's, but if you do, you may come away as amazed as I was at how many of these predictions have come true.

From time to time I am very proud of many of our accomplishments here at AT&T.  Below you will find a montage of ‘You Will’ commercials from 1993.  They were great back then but kinda spooky in their accuracy of the future. 

I had forgotten about them but once I saw the commercials and heard the famous voice (Tom Selleck) that narrated them, I quickly remembered seeing them.  If you search the term ‘You Will’, you’ll come up with many blog entries about them and even a Wikipedia entry about how they were the early 1990’s marketing slogan for AT&T.



They are interesting because when I see them, I realize that AT&T might change it's slogan from 'We Will" to ‘We Have’ accomplished all those things and so much more.  Many of the ideas from those commercials not only stood the test of time but they have surpassed them.  The guy faxing from the beach- - ‘We Have’ and can now use an iPad (or iPhone) to email from the beach.  The woman calling from a pay phone with video capabilities - -‘We Have’ and can now do that with iPhones or other smart phones all thanks to the AT&T network.  The guy that is telecommuting via a computer with video from a beach house - - ‘We Have’ done that for sometime now and can do it wirelessly.  The car shooting down a toll way and the guy pays with a credit card in a machine that is in his car - -‘We Have’ surpassed this with EZ-pass or I-Pass or whatever your state has named the idea of using a transponder to pay without stopping or slowing down in some cases.

The point I’m trying to make is- AT&T could easily go from "Rethink Possible" to  ‘We Have’…’And More To Come’ - - Wouldn't it be interesting if they were to rerun these commercials except put a different spin on them using ‘We Have’ instead of ‘You Will’.   The point of these would be to remind people of these commercials and allow them to realize just like we did that ‘We Have’ and, in many cases, surpassed the look into the future.

What will another 14 years into the future be like?  In 2024, what will ‘We’ be able to do?  Imagine commercials that would be basically the same as the older ones in which we ask ‘Have you ever……’ and end each with ‘You Will’.  It would be a whole new way to Rethink Possible.  

I know that at times it looks like AT&T can't do anything right.  If you were to believe every tweet and blog out there, you would be convinced that AT&T was the most inept company on the planet.  Still, when I reflect on the fact that my company nailed it the first time around and to Rethink Possible once again with AT&T perhaps there is life in old "ma bell" after all.  I am told that people are adding devices to the AT&T network faster than any other network.  Further, I am told that more people choose to stay with AT&T than any other carrier.  Perhaps it is this knack of innovation and execution that leads people here.

For those of you who choose to have AT&T as your access to a world of possibilities, as an employee who is proud to serve you, I thank you.

Just imagine what will be possible in the future.

You Will!

Rethink Possible