• by Aaron Baar , September 4, 2012

With competitors Verizon Wireless and AT&T touting their shared data plans, Sprint is doubling down on its Truly Unlimited data offering with a new campaign encouraging people to “Say no to sharing.”

The new campaign, created by Sprint and its Team Sprint agency (Digitas and Leo Burnett), features a television commercial, print advertisements, social media outreach, online digital banners and retail integration. The television commercial depicts a family of four trying to determine who should get priority when it comes to dividing the shared gigabytes of their data plan.

The father suggests the person who fathered the most children get top priority, while the mother suggests it be the person with the most hair. “Body hair?” the father counters. Through a mouthful of orthodontics, the daughter suggests the person with the most dental work get first dibs. The spot ends with the family still undecided and the message, “Say no to sharing. … Say yes to Sprint.”

In recent months, both Verizon Wireless and AT&T have introduced shared data plans, which allow groups of users to use a set amount of data across a variety of devices. The pitfall, according to the campaign, is that many people don’t know how much data they (or their shared devices) are using every month until after they receive their bill.

“The concept of sharing a monthly data allowance across a family or group of users increases the likelihood for a surprise monthly bill due to data overage charges,” said Caralene Robinson, vice president- brand strategy and marketing communications, Sprint, in a statement. “This campaign is designed to eliminate the confusion and skepticism about who offers Truly Unlimited data plans without the costly catch of sharing metered data attached. It’s Sprint.”