• by Danielle Oster , February 1, 2025

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson appeared onscreen in a new ad for Verizon’s Straight Talk Wireless brand, which debuted just about a week after the Ravens’ playoff hopes were dashed.

The spot for the Walmart-exclusive Verizon prepaid plan made its television debut during coverage of the AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and  Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday on CBS, which followed the Ravens' narrow 27-25 loss to the Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs the week prior.

The 30-second ad focuses on Johnson's penchant for switching teams, tying the journeymen's career to an appeal to switch wireless carriers.

It opens on Johnson on the sidelines. As his uniform repeatedly changes color, he informs viewers that he has played on 14 different NFL teams, more than any other player. “But I’m done with all that,” he claims. “I’m switching to Straight Talk for good,” he notes, as the brand’s promise of plans “as low as $25/month” appears onscreen.

Like Johnson, the ad won’t be making a Super Bowl appearance. But Straight Talk Wireless said it does plan to continue airing the ad across various networks through February 9 (just not during the broadcast of the game itself).

Straight Talk Wireless partnered with Deutsch LA and Steelhead on the campaign, which also includes support from a number of social activations – including a series of videos featuring Johnson on the brand’s Instagram page. The effort follows Straight Talk Wireless  partnering with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch for a campaign centering around its “Family Dynasty Plan Sweepstakes” this past October.

During a recent earnings call with investors discussing Verizon’s Q4 earnings report, Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath claimed that the company was “seeing really strong performance” from the Verizon Value portion of its business.

“I think our refreshed value brands, our value proposition, our relationship with Walmart, as well as expanded total wireless distribution, is working very well,” Sampath said, adding that the company feels comfortable pursuing a strategy to “continue to grow for net adds in this environment.”

Last year, the company refreshed both the prepaid Total Wireless brand it acquired from Tracfone in late 2021, and the Verizon brand itself.