T-Mobile just dialed back its connection to celebrities in the Super Bowl.
The telecommunications giant ran a 60-second commercial in the first quarter during Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIX that was bereft of the marketer’s usual touches. Rather than tap actor Bradley Cooper and his mother, the song-and-dance antics of Zach Braff and Donad Faison, or cameos from John Travolta, Dolly Parton or Jason Momoa, as it has for the past two years, T-Mobile talked up technology.
T-Mobile’s new offering, now rolling out to the public, relies on a partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink to offer satellite connections for so-called “dead zones” across the U.S. The company says the service makes it possible to get text messages now, with pictures, data and voice calls soon to come — even if traditional cell reception is not available in a specific area. T-Mobile says in the commercial that it will allow Verizon and AT&T customers to use the service for free for now without changing carriers.
“Anybody that’s ever had a cell phone has experienced this problem, and this solution solves it,” says Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy, and products at T-Mobile, during a recent interview. As such, he says, this year “we felt like the service should be the star” rather than a celebrity or group of famous faces.
T-Mobile’s decision to highlight the emerging technology is likely to set off a new wave of competition within its sector. Both AT&T and Verizon have pursued similar capabilities, with Verizon re-introducing its long-absent “Test Man” character in a commercial that ran during CBS’ telecast of the Grammys a week ago. In that spot, astronaut Buzz Aldrin sets out to conquer dead zones across the globe, sending texts to the character, played by Paul Marcarelli, who is getting messages in space. T-Mobile has in recent months quarreled with both competitors over claims they have made in ads and promotional copy about their ability to offer the technology.
“We actually saw that Verizon commercial and felt bad. A reasonable consumer would see that commercial and expect they could go to Verizon’s web site and sign up for it. You can’t,” says Katz, who adds: “The only service that exists from an American wireless company is the one that T-Mobile is announcing on the Super Bowl.”
There’s good reason all three companies are pursuing the technology. The mobile satellite services market is projected to total $7.46 billion in 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence, a market-research firm, compared with $5.29 billion in 2025.
T-Mobile is likely to tap celebrities in other commercials. In a separate campaign that has been running for several weeks, Snoop Dogg, Patrick Mahomes and influencer Kai Cenat pitch the idea of trading in old iPhones for a new iPhone 16 Pro and discounts on monthly wireless bills.
The company sees such personalities as partners, says Katz. “We don’t use an agency at all. I work with the film production company that mostly makes feature films that does all of our ads. All of the people that are in our spots are friends of T-Mobile,” says Katz. “These guys are close partners with us. and don’t just show up and read scripts on the day that we shoot. They actually help us create the concepts.”
The alliance with Starlink, which provides broadband to rural and remote areas all around the globe, may surprise audiences. The company is a division of Musk’s SpaceX, and Musk has managed to insert himself into President Donald Trump’s efforts to narrow the U.S. government.
“If you want to solve this problem” of getting connectivity to remote areas, says Katz, “it requires a very large constellation of satellites, and Starlink is the only one in the world that can deliver on that.” He adds that Starlink “had more launches last year than the rest of the world combined.”
No doubt, T-Mobile will apply all the usual tests of advertising effectiveness to its new service that it does to its usual array of stars. If the new offering rates high in measures like recall and likability, perhaps it will return to the Big Game next year.