Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

LG has a new series of commercials featuring James Lipton, the host of Inside the Actor's Studio. Positioned as public service announcements, these ads urge teens to "give it a ponder" before sexting or spreading Gossip Girl-style texts.
This particular ad features a teen boy, Stephan, who is having a "steamy back and forth text with his girlfriend Zoë" and is about to send her a "pic of his junk."

While the ad is worth watching just to hear Lipton say these words, do they ring true?

The warning seems to be justified. According to a survey fielded by TRU:

• 18% of teen boys and 22% of teen girls say they have sent/posted nude or seminude pictures or video of themselves
• 71% of teen girls and 67% of teen guys who have sent or posted sexually suggestive content say they have sent/posted this content to a boyfriend/girlfriend.
• 36% of teen girls and 39% of teen boys say it is common for nude or semi-nude photos to get shared with people other than the intended recipient.
• 38% of teen girls and 39% of teen boys say they have had sexually suggestive text messages or emails— originally meant for someone else—shared with them.

So what did teens think? Rebecca Cullers at AdFreak did a (very) informal opinion poll:

My husband happens to have a whole class of 9th graders who saw the ads during homeroom. What did they say? "Why does she have a beard? I don't get it. That's retarded."

Perhaps Lipton's beard-scratching pontification isn't as well-known amongst the under-30 set, but now they will likely know him as "the old guy who says 'tweets about his piece' in that weird commercial."

Truth in Advertising is a running series of television commercials that portray consumers using mobile technology in their everyday life. They take a look at how brands are demonstrating our want and need for mobility. Click here to view previous entries.