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Every year, WWE fans around the world make a pilgrimage to WrestleMania, where its host city, brimming with fans, becomes a hotspot for corporate partners.
That’s why Cricket Wireless, WWE’s partner since 2016, planned something special for April 6, the first night of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. It’s where, earlier that day, the company’s “chair phone,” a cheeky reference to professional wrestlers’ weapon of choice, will be featured, during a promotional event at a local store.
The steel folding 5G chair, which is not for sale, can do anything a real phone can: make calls, send texts, play music, snap photos, and stream video. It also has a fog machine, a nod to the dramatics of a professional wrestler’s walk to the ring.
A commercial featuring the chair phone and WWE performers Chad Gable and Otis started to air nationwide April 4. In the ad, Otis and Gable sit at a board meeting beside executives. When the Cricket mascot asks the pair what else the company can power using 5G, they become entranced by a steel chair leaning against the wall.
The video pivots to Gable and Otis flaunting the chair phone inside a wrestling ring. Back in the conference room, they hold it aloft as the executives cheer.
“My god,” the Cricket mascot says. “It’s the most powerful chair ever made.”
Cricket declined to disclose ad spend for the commercial, which is featured throughout the year as part of the company’s media buy, targeted toward WWE live programming.
The chair phone is also featured during WWE’s “Countdown to WrestleMania XL” shows on Peacock. This year’s WrestleMania marks the debut of WWE’s largest sponsorship agreement: The logo for Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration beverage will be emblazoned in the middle of the ring.
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