John Legere is getting a taste of his own medicine. The T-Mobile CEO has earned a reputation for being outspoken and combative on his personal Twitter account, but now a rival is taking him to task.
Sprint rolled out this week a splashy new ad campaign with David Beckham hawking its new “All In” wireless plan that’s $80 a month for a new phone and unlimited data. It sounds like a deal, but critics slammed the company for not including taxes in the total price and hiding the fact cost of renting the phone has increased.
Legere took notice:
I give credit to @sprint for swinging the bat when they do – but #allin is a swing and a miss, guys!! #sprintlikehell https://t.co/qDxDoK3BY9
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 2, 2015
That tweet riled up Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, which sent him into an explicit rant calling out T-Mobile’s plans:
@JohnLegere I am so tired of your Uncarrier bullshit when you are worse than the other two carriers together. Your cheap misleading lease
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) July 2, 2015
@JohnLegere imitation is a joke. You trick people to believe that they have a 15 dollar iphone lease payment when it’s not true. You tell
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) July 2, 2015
@JohnLegere them they can upgrade up to 3x but you don’t tell them the price goes up to 27 dollars when they do. You say one thing
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) July 2, 2015
@JohnLegere but behave completely different. It’s all a fake show. So its really #Tmobilelikehell
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) July 2, 2015
Legere hasn’t yet responded and it would be weird if he didn’t return tweet-fire eventually. In the past, he’s taken on Donald Trump for dissing T-Mobile’s network and slammed AT&T’s data rollover plan.
Yet, this battle is only Claure’s to lose. T-Mobile has posted profits and strong subscriber numbers over the past year and is about to overtake Sprint as the country’s number three mobile carrier. But it shows that Claure isn’t ready give up the fight yet — until Legere gets the final word.
Header image via T-Mobile/Facebook.
More in Marketing
Tariff saga creates a meme war on social media, making it difficult for brands to ‘control the message’
As the trade war escalates, social media narratives about how goods are made is pressuring brands to increase transparency.
How Hyundai’s CMO is navigating upfront marketplace uncertainty and rapid-response tariff ads
Hyundai’s CMO explains how the automaker put its latest tariff-tinged ad on the road in just a week.
When it comes to ads, Apple isn’t playing coy anymore
Apple’s rebrand of its search ads business is the latest in a string of changes that suggest the tech company is gearing up for a more concerted move for ad dollars.