BEYOND WORDS    Video of Verizon ads At the playground, on the bus ... My clippers or the squirrel gets it
	This week's results Like the ads a lot All respondents 20% Ad Track survey average 21% Among key target groups Male respondents 19% Female respondents 22% Dislike the ads All respondents 17% Ad Track survey average 13% Think they are very effective All respondents 22% Ad Track survey average 21% Click here for previous Ad Tracks. To subscribe to Harris Ad Research Service, contact David Krane of Harris Interactive at 212-539-9648 or at dkrane@harrisinteractive.com. Based on a nationwide poll of 2,631 adults who had seen the ads. Poll conducted Jan. 19-28; margin of error is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points. Overall average based on 399 ads.
	Today's Top Money Stories • Millions of taxpayers fail to claim easy phone-tax refund, IRS says - 3:01 PM • As values rise, high-tech entrepreneurs grapple with build-or-sell dilemma - 7:27 PM • Girl Scouts cut most trans fats from all cookies - 3:41 PM • Is your fur fake, or is it Fido? - 2:39 PM • Rats gone wild! Video shows rats running through NYC restaurant - 3:08 PM • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds

		'Test Man' rides a cross-country bus to check the reliability of Verizon Wireless' system.

The "Can you hear me now?" guy, Verizon says, is the "personification" of a crew of 50 Verizon employees who each drive 100,000 miles annually in specially outfitted vehicles to test the reliability of Verizon's network.

Verizon is so determined to keep the Test Man in character that it would provide few details about the actor who plays him in the ads. "Our casting specifications called for an everyman with something quirky or memorable about them," says Marvin Davis, vice president, advertising, Verizon Wireless. "We looked at over 1,000 people."

In fact, the one chosen is Paul Marcarelli, a 34-year-old actor from New York City. And, yes, those really are his own horn-rimmed glasses.

Since the ads began two years ago, Marcarelli has helped Verizon gain market share and reduce customer turnover. Net customers grew 10% to 32.5 million in 2002 vs. 2001 and 15% more to 37.5 million in 2003. Customer turnover, a major expense called "churn" in the business, is at 1.8%, down from more than 2.5% in 2000, according to technology tracking firm The Yankee Group.

The simple "Can you hear me now?" question, all too familiar to cell phone users, helped move network reliability up the ranks as a key purchase consideration for wireless users at a time when other companies were shouting about minutes and prices.

"No one was talking about it," Davis says. "We tried to communicate our relentless drive to make wireless even better. If you can't place the call, it doesn't matter how many minutes you have."

A recent ad features Test Man roaming the country through wheat fields, across snowy mountains, through airports, along highways, in a bowling alley. The announcer says Verizon "covers the most people in the most places, but still we test." In another ad, a man holds a decorative lawn squirrel hostage until his neighbor returns a pair of hedge trimmers.

The ads by Lowe, N.Y., got through to consumers surveyed by Ad Track, USA TODAY's weekly poll on TV advertising.

Of those familiar with the campaign, 20% like the ads "a lot" vs. the Ad Track average of 21%. More significantly, the score is among the highest for any wireless company ads tested in Ad Track in the past two years. The ads were disliked by 17%, higher than the Ad Track average of 13%, yet 22% of the consumers consider the ads "very effective" vs. the average of 21%.

What is the appeal of the ads? "The campaign resonates because it's so true to wireless users," Davis says. "People nod their heads because they have had that experience."

With consumers looking for greater network reliability, Verizon has been able to hold steady its average monthly service revenue per user (ARPU) of $49 while still adding customers. Rivals have been engaging in a cutthroat price war to sign up customers.

"(Verizon) is one of the very few carriers where there is a very strong direct link between subscriptions and ARPU," says Roger Entner, director, wireless/mobile services, The Yankee Group.

"We're not the low-cost provider. We're not the most aggressive with promotional deals and headset giveaways," Davis says. "Our brand message is important, because the market recognizes it's a higher-quality service. People are willing to pay more to get more."

The Test Man will continue to roam the nation in Verizon ads for at least the near future despite a company decision to move the ad work from Lowe, which picked up the account after a merger with Bozell. The latter had had the account for nearly seven years, when Verizon Wireless was still Bell Atlantic Mobile. As a search for a new agency is underway, McCann-Erickson has temporarily picked up the estimated $300 million account.

And look for the Test Man to help promote services beyond voice as the company moves to grow revenue with data and photo services. Verizon said in January that it will spend $1 billion in the next two years to expand its wireless Broadband Access, available now in San Diego and Washington, D.C.