Will One Misfit Be Conspicuously Missing?

It was released today that Verizon is buying Alltel, a deal which will make it the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. I’ve got a few questions though. First, is Alltel keeping its name or simply having its resources folded in under the Verizon name. That question is mostly important to me because it leads to my other queries. If the Alltel brand remains, will it continue to run its wannabe Mac vs. PC style commercials? And if so, will the crazy cat playing the Verizon guy be gone, leaving a conspicuous absence? Or perhaps, they’ll have the Verizon guy join ol’ Chad (the super cool, all-knowing Alltel guy from the spots). Naturally, if the Alltel brand disappears, this is a moot points, but if it remains, I’m curious to see which way it goes.

P.S. This assumes Verizon is planning on retaining its name. While I don’t see the Verizon name going bye-bye anytime soon, a well- known competitor ditched a more lucrative name in a merger that ended up doing it great damage with the younger demographic and sealing its image as a dust-and-cobwebs icon of big business.