Like perishable foods, the cellphone minutes on most plans have an expiration date. If you don’t use them, you lose them. AT&T provides a unique offering—minutes that don’t expire.

Advertising near the expiration dates of grocery items was a cheap and unexpected way to get this message to family decision makers.

At the time this ran, big, flashy advertising campaigns were viewed negatively by consumers. Advertisers who spent tons of money on production were perceived as being wasteful. In using existing grocery items as the base for AT&T’s value message, the execution reinforced the communication and gave consumers a positive perception of the brand during a time of economic uncertainty.