Super Bowl deal: Why actor Ryan Reynolds wants to give you 3 months of free wireless

A year ago, a small wireless startup from Costa Mesa, California, seeking to grow its business, spent $5 million to introduce itself to the world on the 2019 Super Bowl game with a 30-second ad. The pitch: a super low-cost alternative to the hundred dollar plus wireless packages from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint. Instead, full service starting at $15 monthly. The catch: Less data is available, but it’s cheap. So cut to a year later, and MintMobile isn’t returning to the Super Bowl, which kicks off Sunday with a host of broadcast and streaming options to watch. And the firm has a new “owner” in actor Ryan Reynolds, best known for movies like “Deadpool” and “The Proposal.”
Reynolds this year is pitching a new deal – three months of free service, but only if you sign up during a certain time period. Like during the game itself. The actor, in a full-page ad that ran in the New York Times this week, explained why he’s ditching spending another $5 million to be on the Bowl. Instead of spending $5 million, “we could literally give away over 300,000 months of free service and still save money. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”