We've seen the "rising bars" image selling cellphone networks before.

This tweet alerted us to the fact that some people figured the "bar" thing representing coverage was already done to death, as it reads:

So...@EtisalatUAE caught copycatting ads again...where's @adland and @adnationme when you want em? https://twitpic.com/44zrnd

The first thing I thought of was BBDO's AT&T campaign shot by Pete Barett when I saw the "increasing bar" idea. The extra funny in the tweeted example is that both images depict skyscrapers. A very easy choice, AT&T thought further than that.

With that I'll leave you pondering how old the "bars" idea actually is (I'm sure it's been done at least once a year ever since cellphones were invented), and how much a great photographer brings to a campaigns quality even if the visual isn't super-original. It's a lot. In fact, use this example next time someone wants you to to select the second best photographer for your campaign!

& thanks to @hmdqdrshk for the twitpic