In a brilliant bit of guerrilla marketing, the gang at Sprint seeks to cash in on the popularity of the T-Mobile ad that features beautiful Canadian spokesmodel Carly Foulkes, who took over that spot from Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The knock-off is its latest salvo to thwart AT&T’s $39B takeover of T-Mobile.

Attired in her signature pink-hued frock, wholesome and sexy Foulkes calmy picks apart an array of male clods who are customers of T-Mobile's wireless competitors.

The latest ad is the “monthly mugging” of a wireless customer by corporate goons who hold him upside down and shake him until all the change falls out of his pockets.

The poor sap, suggests Foulkes, should switch to T-Mobile’s unlimited $79 monthly talk, text and data plan to save $350 yearly from the tab of AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.

That ad will obviously be re-jiggered if T-Mobile’s marriage to Ma Ball takes place.

The Sprint ad features an overweight, middle-aged cross-dressing guy with cigar in hand. He is no Foulkes look-a-like.

“No matter how you dress it up, this takeover is bad for consumers and the economy,” reads the copy of the ad from Sprint and allies including Media Access Project, Center for Media Justice, Rural Telecommunications Group, Public Knowledge, New America Foundation and Rural Cellular Assn. “Tell Congress to help stop AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile,” they add.

The Sprint spoof works, but hardly breaks ground. It follows the footsteps of T-Mobile. Its Foulkes spot is a knock-off of the Apple "I’m a PC. I’m a Mac" ad, which pitted the cool guy vs. the nerd.

One of those ads had Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen as a Mac "home movie" vs. a middle-aged overweight cross-dresser who was the PC's version.

Sound familiar?