• by Fern Siegel , Yesterday

Hate to pay big wireless bills?

Consumer Cellular has other ideas. And to make its case, it used Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy. In 2007, he had a famous “I’m a man, I’m 40” rant against sports reporters that went viral. Now, the telecom is redirecting his fury to overpriced phone plans.

The 30-second spot by The Mayor, Consumer Cellular’s AOR, gives Gundy's anger a positive spin, while remembering a sports moment. Gudy isn’t in his 40s any more — but saving money is appreciated at any age.

“Coach Gundy’s press conference rant is one of those cultural moments for college football fans,” said Tom Hamling, CCO of The Mayor. “It’s basically a 20-year-old meme that resurfaces every year. We loved the idea of revisiting it — not just for nostalgia sake, but to make 50+ people stop and think that if Coach made the change to CCI — maybe I should, too.”

In the “Gundy 2025” spot, the coach says Big Wireless rate hikes “make him wanna puke” and suggests fans cut their bills by switching to Consumer Cellular.

The work runs across TV, digital and social, making its TV debut Sept. 6 during the Oregon vs. Oklahoma State game. To date, there has been more than 1M views of it on X.

Carter Nance, vice president, brand at Consumer Cellular, calls the creative  “the perfect platform for Consumer Cellular to show fellow 50+ sports fans why we’re the smart alternative to Big Wireless.”