Sprint Nextel needs to "power up" new ads

In the midst of sluggish sales, customer defections and negative press, Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S ) has chosen a new advertising firm to handle its rather large account. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is now the ad agency for the progressive, but struggling telecom company which continues to bleed customers every quarter.

As a consumer, I shake my head over Sprint Nextel's current meaningless "POWER UP" tagline. When I'm thinking of my telecom services -- wireline, wireless, Internet, etc. -- reliability, quality and customer service are my main priorities. The "Power" of the network is something I'm not too concerned about. In fact, if the data speeds meet my needs, the network is reliable and the customer service is good, does it really matter how "powerful" things are? Some early adopters and power users may care, but not the general public.

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners will manage brand strategy and creative for both the Sprint and Nextel brands and the transition process will begin immediately from Sprint's old ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Publicis Groupe S.A.'s (NYSE:PUB) Publicis and Hal Riney. I hope Sprint Nextel's new agency can get the company up and going on wining back customers and trying to find the right balance in the still-awkward Nextel integration that still lingers two years after the companies merged.