A marketing firm by the name of 6S Marketing has published an open letter to Apple in an attempt to persuade the technology giant to reconsider naming its next smartphone the iPhone 6s.

The public plea from 6S Marketing co-founder Chris Breikss touches on his company's history, how it got the idea for the name (6S sounds like "success") and even how many of its 35 employees are longtime Apple users.

The firm has even rented billboards in Times Square and parked a mobile advertising truck in front of Apple's iconic retail store on Fifth Avenue but don't be fooled - it's all a well-timed publicity stunt that appears to highlight just how good the marketing firm is at its job.

For starters, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to predict Apple's iPhone naming convention. The Cupertino-based company has been using the "s" moniker to designate the once-every-two-years evolutionary update to its iconic handset since 2009.

If the firm was at all serious about its request, they would have reached out to Apple months or even years in advance and it wouldn't have done so on a public stage. Furthermore, a marketing firm would be fully aware of the fact that even if Apple obliged and changed the name to something else (like the iPhone 7), it'd be logistically impossible to do so this late in the game.

Still need convincing? How about the fact that the WeAre6S.com URL plastered on its marketing material was registered just a few weeks ago?

What we have here is a brilliant marketing campaign that's using the hype surrounding the unveiling of Apple's next iPhone to promote itself. Let's face it - 6S Marketing could never generate this kind of brand awareness on its own. Job well done, guys.