T-Mobile’s CEO is using Nick Symmonds to troll company’s main competitor
T-Mobile US CEO John Legere purchased advertising space on Olympic Nick Symmonds' shoulder and is trolling AT&T in an unlikely way.
Votes are in and this is the poll winner for @NickSymmonds tattoo! First race is in China – will this translate?! ? pic.twitter.com/K93KL7X6ht
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) May 7, 2016
John Legere, the CEO of T-Mobile US, appears to be taking a shot at mobile carrier and competitor AT&T if he goes through with his latest stunt involving two-time Olympian Nick Symmonds. Legere, an advocate for long distance running, purchased advertising space on the 800m runner’s shoulder for $21,800 in an eBay auction and posted on Twitter a design that reads “F^@% AT&T” with an emoji of the T-Mobile CEO.
It’s not yet known what the final design will be but in the following tweet, Legere alludes to potentially using the above design:
I’ve got a few other ideas for @NickSymmonds’ arm! I’m going to get them mocked up and then we will choose together!! #staytuned
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) May 7, 2016
The advertising space is a 22cm block on Symmonds’ right shoulder reserved for a temporary tattoo (with certain design limitations). His left shoulder will have a tattoo of Run Gum’s logo, a caffeinated gum company which he co-founded.
The Boise, Ida. native and Brooks-sponsored athlete held a similar auction in 2012 in the lead-up to the Olympics. That sold for US$11,100. Symmonds has been as advocate for athletes in their fight against sponsorship restrictions by the United State Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee that bars non-Olympic sponsors from advertising during the Olympic Games in August.
The rule, known as Rule 40, will be in effect from July 24 to Aug. 24. It’s likely that Symmonds will have to tape over the tattoo for many competitions.
AT&T is an official sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee, the ultimate “take that” jab as T-Mobile may get just as much publicity at a fraction of the price thanks to Symmonds’ popularity among the running community and elsewhere.
Symmonds is expected to compete at the Shanghai Diamond League in China on May 14, the first opportunity of 2016 that the world championship silver medallist will have to show off the yet-to-be-determined tattoo.
RELATED: See the entire backstory on how exactly Symmonds’ was able to sell shoulder space for FIVE figures.
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Legere decided on the ultimate design using a public poll on Twitter. The “F^@% AT&T w/ my emoji” was the overwhelming favourite with 47 per cent of the vote. The other options included “I Run Good,” an American flag and #WeWontStop, a hashtag used by T-Mobile. Legere has more than 2.4 million followers on Twitter.
Now that I’ve purchased a spot on 2x Olympian, @NickSymmonds’ arm, help me decide what the tattoo should be of! GO!
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) May 6, 2016
There were 107 bids in the Symmonds’ shoulder auction, which the 32-year-old did through eBay, an online e-commerce website.
A photo posted by Nick Symmonds (@nicksymmonds) on
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