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If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Apple is blushing over the new T-Mobile campaign for their 4G MyTouch smartphone. Any time a brand like Apple is able to create such fervent advocates of their products, there will always be detractors who question the legitimacy of the hype while simultaneously taking notes on the more successful aspects of the strategy and design. Enter T-Mobile.

Not only does the name "MyTouch" emulate the "i_______" naming convention of Apple products, but as you can tell from the current television ad campaign, T-Mobile has decided to use Apple's now famous "Get a Mac" campaign format from years past. However, with the exception of two people standing on a white background trading jabs while quirky songs play in the background, the two ads are vastly different. The Apple ads injected a fair amount of humor and irony while spelling out differences between the two products that were already blatantly obvious to existing users. Unfortunately, the T-Mobile ad isn't quite as clever and AT&T's shoddy network is just an easy target at this point. This angle seems even less pertinent seeing how it's only a matter of time until AT&T is no longer the exclusive service provider of the iphone in America.

Will this this new campaign move the dial for the T-Mobile's My Touch? I tend to think that such blatant mockery of a successful campaign tends to remind us of what we liked about the original. Google's Android campaign (like it or not) is a perfect example of how a completely different approach than that of your direct competitor can garner greater market share. Take note T-Mobile.