The U.S. postpaid consumer wireless market is estimated at an annual sales volume of approximately U.S. $125 billion. Verizon boasts a total of 146.8 million retail wireless connections, the majority of which are postpaid subscribers. It is precisely to retain clients and engage new postpaid customers that the telecommunications giant is today launching a Spanish and English-language marketing campaign to support a new loyalty program, a “Simplicity Plan”, a simple and cost-effective plan, and the “Verizon One Plan”, a streamlined plan that combines Mobility and Home on one bill with taxes and fees included.
Ricardo Aspiazu, SVP, Creative & Brand Design, Verizon, tells Portada about the rationale of the creative and media of the new Verizon advertising plan. The objective is to “capitalize on new audiences and show existing customers that Verizon cares,” says Aspiazu.
“Our objective is to capitalize on new audiences and show existing customers that Verizon cares.”
Verizon Advertising: Cultural Relevancy Through ‘Yo Soy Betty, la fea’
For the creative, Verizon is strongly leaning on ‘Yo Soy Betty, la fea‘, a very successful Colombian telenovela that ran from 1999 to 2001, with continuous reruns afterward, most recently on Amazon Prime Video.
“We have seen the show continuing to be a global sensation 25 years after the show aired,” says Aspiazu. According to the Verizon executive, the show features a good character (Betty, la fea, played by Ana Maria Orozco), a bad character (Patricia; Lorna Cepeda), and the boss (Armando; Jorge Enrique Abello) who looks for solutions. In the TV and streaming spots (see below), ‘Verizon’s character’ is played by Betty, la fea, who always comes across as strategic and solution-oriented. “The creative has a high cultural relevancy as we are leveraging the characters in a way that they are believable,” asserts Aspiazu. The spots were shot in Bogotá, Colombia, at Canal RCN, the original studio of Betty, la fea, by the same actors of the original show and on the sets that were used for ‘Betty, La fea’, including the same furniture.
The core target of the Verizon advertising campaign oriented towards Hispanics is the connected, low- and mid-acculturated Hispanic family that consumes in-language shows and media. “These are important audiences who are watching the FIFA Soccer World Cup in Spanish,” notes Aspiazu. According to Aspiazu, this constituency is seeking multi-line partnerships for wireless services. “They are a millennial family in their late thirties and forties, with kids between 8 and 12 who are starting to use communications services.” Within the family, the main target of the Verizon advertising campaign is the “Latina woman who is the CFO of the Latino household.”
The Spot
Creative, Media Agencies and Cast
| Creative Agency | The Community (Miami, part of Publicis) |
| Media Agency | Publicis Media |
| Public Relations Agency | Edelman |
| Director | Sergio Granados |
| Cast – ‘Yo soy Betty la fea’ | Ana María Orozco, Jorge Enrique Abello, Lorna Cepeda |
Verizon Advertising: Leveraging the World Cup Investment
A critical element of the new Verizon advertising campaign is that it is happening during the 2026 Soccer World Cup. “We wanted to take advantage of inventory across the FIFA media buy. The World Cup started last week, and we are launching this effort today, June 16. We are using 90% of the bought inventory for this campaign,” says Aspiazu. In addition to FIFA properties, the Spanish-language media buy includes Telemundo and different digital advertising and creator initiatives.
The campaign also has an experiential component, which included a recent ‘Latinas in Sports’ event hosted in Los Angeles and organized by DRAFTED. Locally, across different markets, there will also be meet-and-greets with soccer players. In addition, the Verizon Shine sweepstakes will drop every Monday, giving customers a chance to enter for a chance to win a diverse lineup of all-expense-paid experiences across music, food, culture, and sports, starting on June 22. Verizon is providing access to thousands of World Cup tickets for customers; some of them will be able to enjoy exclusive ‘Golden Tickets’ to watch 10-25 minutes of World Cup matches from the pitchside.
For the English-language campaign, Verizon reunited the Austin Powers cast, including Mike Myers in his iconic role as antagonist ‘Dr. Evil’, in order to satirize industry complexity. The English-language media investment goes to English-language properties, including Fox, the holder of the English-language rights to the 2026 Soccer World Cup, as well as NBCU, Disney, and Paramount, and also to digital audiences through social and paid social creator community initiatives.
“We are using 90% of the bought Fifa Soccer World Cup ad inventory for this campaign.”
Customer-Centered Reboot
Aspiazu maintains that “customers want to be seen as being listened to and we need to make sure that everyone is removing obstacles in ways to do business.” Verizon’s customer-centered reboot is based on three pillars:
- Reduce friction to obtain wireless, including eliminating upgrade and activation fees
- Eliminating complexity around plans. One price, one plan (US $30 per line)
- Make sure the customer is welcomed and rewarded for their loyalty. A cashback loyalty program equivalent to 3% of the bill that can be exchanged for Verizon devices, loyalty programs, or gift cards.
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