Idol thoughts for AT&T

"Thanks for voting for contestant two! Watch American Idol tomorrow on FOX, sponsored in part by the new AT&T."

I heard this message literally dozens (hundreds?) of times last night as I tried (quite possibly in vain) to save my two favorite Idol contestants . . . the charmingly raffish (or raffishly charming) Chris Richardson and the hard-rocking gal, Gina Glocksen (hard-rocking being a relative term, of course). As I checked my email, did some dishes, and heated up a mug of tea, I was constantly hitting redial and (to my slight concern), consistently getting through, hearing the above message over and over again.

It got me to thinking about AT&T (NYSE:T), and how Ma Bell has managed quite the marketing coup. Along with millions of other American voters, I was slammed with their company name repeatedly, with little time and presumably even less effort on their part. Sure, once in a while I managed to hang up by the end of the message, but the majority of the time, it played through before my thumb could hit the end button.

Will this barrage cause me to change my current telecom service? Not likely, and it certainly won't have much impact on the under-20 demographic, which, I'm guessing, makes up the majority of the Idol-voting public (my story is that I have too much time and not enough shame). But T isn't exactly hurting for business; the company expects double-digit earnings-per-share growth in 2007 and 2008, and its stock has been rising higher since early last year. And, as I learned, it is keeping its name prominent and relevant, which can't hurt.

Yes, things are good for the venerable name; I only hope they'll be as good for my Idol favorites tonight.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.