AT&T has secured the services of actor Mark Wahlberg to plug its entertainment offerings in an exclusive deal reportedly worth more than $10 million.
Wahlberg and the carrier will begin production this week on an advertising campaign slated to launch in April focusing on AT&T’s entertainment offerings across screens. Apparently, the TV commercials will tout AT&T’s zero-rated data model, which allows wireless customers who are also DirecTV subscribers to view content without incurring data charges.
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The actor stars in a series of TV and digital adverts, launching in April 2017, and will reportedly create original content for AT&T.
“Only AT&T gives you your live channels and DVR on your devices, data-free,” said Brad Bentley, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of AT&T Entertainment Group, in a press release. “And there’s no one more authentic to show how AT&T does entertainment your way than Mark Wahlberg—a no-nonsense entertainer himself.”
Wahlberg is just the latest high-profile celebrity to agree to promote the offerings of a major U.S. wireless carrier: Jamie Foxx last year appeared in commercials for Verizon, Ariana Grande has touted T-Mobile, Taylor Swift has inked a multiyear deal with AT&T, and then there was that infamous Justin Bieber ad campaign for T-Mobile.
AT&T’s announcement comes as a battle over zero-rated content is heating up between the nation’s two largest wireless network operators. AT&T began offering zero-rated video last year to wireless customers who also subscribe to DirecTV, and Verizon earlier this week said wireless customers who subscribe to its internet and TV services can watch both live and recorded shows without incurring data charges by using the carrier’s Fios Mobile App.