Subscribe to receive Urgent Communications Newsletters
Catch up on the latest tech, media, and telecoms news from across the critical communications community
Verizon's 'Can you hear me now' guy returns – for satellitesVerizon's 'Can you hear me now' guy returns – for satellites
Remember Verizon's 'Can you hear me now' guy? He's back, this time touting Verizon's nascent satellite-messaging capabilities. The move is part of Verizon's efforts to keep pace with its rivals.
Mike Dano / Light Reading
February 3, 2025
2 Min Read
Source: Verizon
Verizon has resurrected the "Can you hear me now" guy for its latest advertising campaign. And the company gave him a friend: Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon.
Verizon's goal? To keep up with competitors AT&T and T-Mobile and their promises of cellular connections from space.
Verizon's "Can you hear me now" guy (dubbed "Test Man" by Verizon) has a long and storied history in the wireless industry. Portrayed by actor Paul Marcarelli, Test Man first started appearing in Verizon commercials in 2002 in order to highlight the company's network coverage. The ads introduced the iconic phrase "Can you hear me now?" that remains synonymous with Verizon and the US wireless industry in general. Verizon discontinued the ads in 2011.
Then, in 2016, Verizon rival Sprint pulled a fast one by hiring Marcarelli to appear in Sprint ads. "I used to ask if you 'can hear me now' with Verizon. Not anymore. I'm with Sprint now," Marcarelli said in the ads. (Why Verizon never responded with ads featuring Sprint's old Trench Coat Guy I'll never know.)
But Marcarelli's tryst with Sprint doesn't seem to have affected his long-term relationship with Verizon, given Verizon's latest ad. Also, it must be said that Marcarelli is rightly overshadowed by Aldrin – a straight up American hero – in the ads.
Name that celebrity
More important, though, is what the ads say about Verizon's business and competitive positioning. They indicate Verizon is concerned enough about being overshadowed by AT&T and T-Mobile that it would bring back the Test Man after Sprint had its way with Marcarelli.
Putting the Test Man alongside a real-life astronaut does make sense though. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have lined up some big names of their own to promote their respective satellite efforts.
T-Mobile hired Mark Rober – a YouTuber, engineer and inventor known for his science and engineering videos – to announce the start of testing for its satellite service with SpaceX:
To read the complete article and view related videos, visit Light Reading.
