This is huge for two reasons:

1. Sprint’s previous campaigns have typically taken the classic, traditional approach.
2. Their ads are usually presented upfront with a product and brand push.

Even though the commercial promotes their 4G network, what’s different this time is that Sprint has finally taken its CEO Dan Hesse out of the picture and centered the brand around (drum roll, please) you.

Hoping to bounce back from their loss of 1 million users in the fourth quarter, Sprint urges its customers to get connected and see “What’s Happening Now.” The campaign whimsically but simply gives statistics of things like how many people are sending text messages during a business meeting, to how many tweets just took place on Twitter—all happening in real-time (a lot like this viral video).

But Sprint hasn’t just mixed the campaign into traditional TV commercials, either. They’ve also integrated digital billboards, online banner ads, a sleek interactive micro-site, and homepage takeovers on YouTube, Yahoo, MSN and AOL that will begin at the end of the month.

So, has this campaign launched Sprint’s brand into the now? Or has it totally missed the mark? Whether this campaign proves successful at pulling in new business or not, Sprint has definitely hit on something other brands, big and small, need to pay attention to. While the ads don’t necessarily tell us why Sprint is better, the campaign does illustrate the appeal of the data-addictive customer, putting social networking sites like Twitter into the mainstream. I think it’s a defining moment that shows Sprint is not only evolving, but leading the way. This new world of brand marketing and integration is about starting a conversation by engaging a community (in Sprint’s case “the now” community). What Sprint has built is a social media strategy centered on technology, information and human experiences—and, of course, all the things you can do on its network with their new phone.

The magic in marketing is evolving. It is no longer enough to simply tell the consumer to purchase your product or service. As seen by Sprint, the new world of marketing involves an engagement with the consumer. Traditional broadcast media is still a branding juggernaut but social media and the phenomena of multimedia and micro-sites are here to stay. The Internet is the new domain of peer to peer, or word of mouth advertising; it is the holy grail of marketing. By participating with the consumer where he or she resides on a social level, marketers can spark and reinforce the positive brand images that allow a video to go viral, or allow a brand to be trusted and loved.

Remember, advertising introduces a brand—the consumer’s interaction with the product in their daily life (including online) is what creates brand loyalty. How effective is this innovative approach to marketing? Does this kind of campaign have the potential to go viral?