• June 23, 2008

The Warped Tour may have started in 1994 as a skater's paradise of indy rock and skateboard pipes, but for several years it has been a magnet for big brands, from GM to Coke and Kia.

This year, AT&T has pole position to tout its mobile packages. Extreme sport footwear company Vans has been in the tour's title since 2000. As part of its involvement with the tour, which kicked off on Friday, AT&T will run a series of grass roots promotions and events at concert venues. It will run, among other things, an "AT&T Signing Stage" where bands signed to the tour will hold forth for autograph sessions.

Also on tap is a program called AT&T Drop Inn, a lounge area where AT&T customers can hang and try out AT&T products and various offerings. The area has kiosks that let customers modify their phones with things like a mobile application for uploading and customizing photos and a mobile-phone version of Guitar Hero.

--Karl Greenberg