Things just aren’t going well for Sprint mobile these days; not that that’s unusual. Arrington recently ripped them apart, and why not, the service is horrible (love Michael’s title, “Sprint Sucks and Their New Website is Stupid.” Still, I was surprised today when flipping through the Wall Street Journal to encounter a full page Sprint Ad titled “The First $10.5M Cell Phone.” Apparently, when you buy the 8830 crackberry, you also get a private island. Unfortunately the contest is only open to the world’s 100 wealthiest people, which means that Riley Bechtel, Stephen D. Bechtel Jr and Ronald S. Lauder (all currently tied for 101st wealthiest) will have to battle it out. Sucks to be them.
This is quite possibly the dumbest campaign I have seen in a long time. Sprint also has a website dedicated to the island ploy: PrivateIslandOffer.com, but it’s not even worth the click-thru effort.