Sprint, coming off a year of heavy layoffs and only moderate smartphone success with the Palm Pre and Pixi, is turning to CEO Dan Hesse as its savior on the television airwaves.

Wait, you’re thinking – those black-and-white ads that aired a year ago were certainly soothing, but not comedic or dramatically eye-catching. Nevertheless, Hesse is back to sell Sprint’s $70 wireless plan that includes data. Catherine Zeta-Jones he is not, but hey, he might be able to square off with Luke Wilson, no?

Sprint needs something to give it a boost. Besides the layoffs and ho-hum smartphones, Sprint lost 3.5 million subscribers last year and its Boost Mobile prepaid service is facing a lot of tough competition from bargain-basement-priced carriers.