Tony Hallett's After These Messages: 118

On 24 August good old 192 will finally cease to work for directory enquiries services in the UK. One of BT's last closed-shop cash cows, currently worth around £300m a year, is being opened up and we'll all soon be using numbers starting with 118. You're probably already familiar with a number of the newcomers moving into this space.

A number of operators, both familiar and start-up, have thrown their hats into the ring, wanting punters to remember their six digits. But who's won the early battles for hearts and minds?

The website www.newdirectoryenquiries.com, run by Oftel, lists some 16 providers. But which campaign has stood out the most? For me, there's one clear leader - 118 118 The Number.

The gimmick was two 1970s-style middle-distance running twins - each called '118', as their singlets constantly remind us - talking to each other, getting into scrapes and playing the fool(s).

In their latest escapades, they are seen Rocky-like, bounding up a series of stairs (in Windsor Great Park rather than Philadelphia) surrounded by several dozen 'mini-118s'.

You see: dodgy hair and 'tache on a six-year-old can be funny (can't it?).

118 118 comes to the UK with the backing of InfoNXX, a US-based company with years of experience in DQ, as directory enquiries is known in the biz. It is no secret that the best DQ services in the US, whether through Baby Bell or long-distance carriers, are often outsourced operations, and this is an area where InfoNXX has built its business.

Could it be that some American branding values are hitting the spot over here? It's probably about more than that. Can you imagine the face of the InfoNXX CEO when an ad agency pitched the idea of two hirsute David Bedford-esque figureheads?

It's more likely that a fully integrated campaign is starting to bear fruit. Guerrilla tactics like real 118 vests hung from train stations and the latest shot of the brothers eating a phone directory all seem a cut above the other offerings - though I have to say quality of service so far hasn't pushed any one service tried by this writer above the pack.

In this age of retro chic and so-bad-it's-good advertising, small wonder the 118 twins should feel a natural way to establish a brand, at least in the UK. My prediction is that they won't last another year. If all goes to plan for InfoNXX, by then they'll have grown up and seen off some of the also-rans. Then a more sophisticated approach will be needed against the marketing savvy of BT, Orange et al.

Eat my code