Looks like Sprint has finally gotten under Verizon’s skin.
In a simplistic new ad featuring comedian Ricky Gervais, Verizon points out that coverage claims – in this case depicted on a map splashed with bright yellow – aren’t always what they appear.
Looking at what appears to be a stand in for Sprint’s wireless map, Gervais draws attention to the fine print at the bottom that says “map is not a depiction of coverage.”
“Then what’s the point?” Gervais cracks.
Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, however, didn’t seem phased by the jab and instead celebrated it on Twitter as free advertising.
“Thanks @Verizon and @rickygervais for advertising that @sprint is faster and more reliable,” Claure wrote. “We agree with you.”
In a Wednesday release, Sprint said its ability to get Verizon’s attention – negative or not – was a sign of just how far its network has come. The formerly dominant carrier, Sprint said, is now “feeling the heat.”
“This new ad campaign from Verizon is a clear acknowledgement that the Sprint network is now a strong competitor,” a Sprint spokeswoman said. “For years Verizon has been the standard in network performance but that’s no longer the case, and we think their network is certainly not worth paying twice the price for.”
Verizon’s ad, which was posted online on March 18, comes just two days after Sprint announced it had achieved 300 mbps speeds using three-channel carrier aggregation on the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Additionally, in a recent report from RootMetrics, Sprint crept up on the competition to take second place overall in Call Performance nationwide. Sprint also edged out T-Mobile to win the third place slot for total RootScore awards earned.