Verizon Banishes iPhone to Island of Misfit Toys

If AT&T took offense at Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” ad campaign, wait until the carrier gets a load of its rival’s newest ad spots. Unfazed by AT&T’s litigious reply to its first effort, Verizon (VZ) rolled out a trio of new anti-AT&T ads over the weekend and they are brutal in their criticism of the carrier’s 3G network coverage.

All of the new commercials are Christmas-themed and all feature Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, though they are careful to leave it unscathed by Verizon’s criticism of AT&T (T). The standout among the three, this re-creation of the “Island of Misfit Toys” scene from the 1964 Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated Christmas television special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Note that the conceit of the ad is that iPhone has been banished to the Island of Misfit Toys not because of its quality but because of of AT&T’s 3G network.

A pretty brilliant escalation of Verizon’s marketing battle with AT&T and one that suggests through its deference to the iPhone that there may be more to these Verizon iPhone rumors than previously thought.

Below, Verizon’s other two ads.