EarthLink Plans New Ads in Battle to Boost Numbers

Early this year, EarthLink’s advertisements used dancing hamsters and a karaoke singer to build brand awareness. This week, EarthLink will unveil a weightier campaign that portrays the Atlanta-based company as the “No. 1 provider of the real Internet.”

The new ads, created by the Los Angeles office of the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency, mark a crucial point in the No. 2 Internet service provider’s battle against heavy-spending market leader America Online and a resurgent MSN. But some Internet observers question whether EarthLink can gain significant ground against the two free-spending competitors.

“I don’t think EarthLink has the resources to be more than a niche player,” said Bruce Kasrel, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. “If MSN--with all the money it has been spending--can’t grow, what’s EarthLink going to accomplish?”

EarthLink, with 4.6 million subscribers, remains a distant second to AOL, with 25 million members. But Claudia Caplan, EarthLink’s brand marketing vice president, argues that the company can build market share by playing to its strengths.

“The first step this advertising takes is in engendering some solid debate over what the Internet really is,” Caplan said. “It asks the question ‘Am I on the real Internet, and if I’m not, am I missing something?’ We believe that EarthLink is the best way to experience the Internet.”

EarthLink’s advertising and marketing budget for 2000 will approach $450 million, including about $60 million for advertising. As is the case with AOL, EarthLink has been spending heavily on marketing programs, including the distribution of free CDs.

EarthLink’s initial TV commercial, which will run this week, uses animated people who discuss what the Internet means to them. Two additional spots, which make reference to Ferdinand Magellan and Charles Darwin, will run later this month. The national branding campaign also will include print and outdoor components.