Sprint poaches former Verizon ambassador
Many consumers recall the actor who asked millions if they could ‘hear [him] now?’ Though Sprint pays homage to the old marketing campaign, it’s via a jab at its competitor.
Those ads touted Verizon Wireless, but now it appears that Marcarelli has switched teams.
“Hey, I’m Paul, and I used to ask if you could hear me now with Verizon,” he says in one spot. “Not anymore.” He continues the pitch by saying the two networks are now basically the same, only Sprint’s is cheaper.
That’s a bold move after Verizon spent nearly 10 years paying him what I can only presume to be a living wage.
“So, I switched to Sprint,” Marcarelli says, “and millions more have, too. Can you hear that?”
Boom!
Sprint’s chief executive, Marcelo Claure, had this to say to USA Today about the move:
Our goal is basically to get people when they’re watching our ads or watching social media to pay attention… I think a lot of people are going to recognize Paul and see (him) in a (Sprint-colored) yellow tee show and ask themselves, “what happened?”
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