Verizon cries foul over Sprint's "most dependable network" ads

Yep, that's right: Verizon Wireless, the same carrier that successfully defended its "Map for that" campaign against a lawsuit from AT&T, is now complaining that Sprint's "most dependable 3G network" slogan is inaccurate.

That's the word from Yahoo! News, which reports that the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business—after a little prodding from Verizon—has asked Sprint to drop its "America's most dependable 3G network" tagline, apparently because a recent Nielsen.com survey found that Verizon drops and/or blocks fewer calls than Sprint.

Sprint's digging in, however, arguing that the survey takers should have "looked at more than one set of tests" to rule out factors like foul weather or "bad" cell towers, according to Yahoo! News, adding that the carrier will take its case to the National Advertising Review Board.

Now, I haven't seen the Nielsen survey in question, but I do remember this thorough PC World wireless survey from June. The results: Verizon Wireless won the "speed demon" award, but Sprint came out tops in the reliability department.

In any case, we seem to have entered a new era of wireless carriers complaining like kids about each other's ad campaigns, running to review boards or even judges for help.

You'd think Verizon would've known better after last week's courtroom battle, in which it successfully defended itself against AT&T's claim that Verizon's "There's a map for that" ads—the one with those big, floating 3G coverage maps—were "misleading" and "patently false." The judge disagreed, though, given that no one was disputing the accuracy of the 3G coverage maps (an almost all-red one for Verizon, a patchy blue one for AT&T) in question.

Verizon scored a legal victory, all right, but it also won a truckload of favorable (and free) media coverage in the bargain.

But now the shoe's on the other foot, with Verizon getting itself in a twist over Sprint's "most dependable" claims and running to an advisory board for help. And the last time I checked, nobody likes a crybaby.

Instead, how about this: Let the commercials run, and let the consumers decide.

So, what do you think: Is Verizon justified in going after Sprint's ads, or is it making a big mistake? And which network do you think is most reliable: Sprint or Verizon (or neither)?

Related:
Verizon opposes Sprint's "Most Dependable" claim [Yahoo! News]