Cingular to become AT&T

NEW YORK — AT&T Inc.'s planned rebranding of Cingular Wireless cell phone service under the AT&T name — not AT&T Wireless — is slated to start next week with a multimedia ad campaign announcing what's expected to be a multi-month transition.

The awareness campaign, which starts two weeks after AT&T gained full ownership of the nation's largest wireless carrier through the purchase of BellSouth Corp., also will include inserts with monthly bills and promotional materials at Cingular stores advising customers of the coming change.

Cingular's name and orange "Jack" logo, both created only six years ago, will continue to appear alongside the AT&T brand and blue "globe" logo until the company is confident customers won't be confused by the switch, AT&T announced today.

But by midyear, it's "likely" the Cingular name and symbol will be disappearing from ads, promotional materials, trucks, bills, stores and buildings, said Wendy Clark, senior vice president of advertising for San Antonio-based AT&T. The only remnant to survive the transition will be the orange, which will be used for accent and background coloring for AT&T's cellular products and services.

"Any time you see us talking about wireless you'll see us use orange," said Clark.

But as cell phone users tend to buy new handsets only once every couple of years, it's likely that tens of millions of Cingular's roughly 60 million subscribers will be toting around devices with the Cingular name and logo for years to come.