- The full Austin Powers villain cast: Mike Myers as Dr. Evil, Rob Lowe as Number Two, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina reunites for a Verizon campaign directed by original Austin Powers filmmaker Jay Roach.
- The "Menace Mobile" spot satirizes the telecom industry's own confusing pricing by having Dr. Evil realize his sinister carrier plan is just "typical phone company stuff," pivoting the gag to promote Verizon's new no-fee Simplicity Plan at $45/line.
- Verizon is running the campaign for two to three months across Fox, Telemundo, Disney, Paramount, Netflix, YouTube, Roku, and out-of-home placements in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle, timed to the FIFA World Cup 2026.
- The Simplicity Plan eliminates activation and upgrade fees and launches "Verizon Dollars," a 3% monthly cashback program redeemable at Sephora, Hilton, Marriott, and Starbucks, alongside a sweepstakes for experiences including tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final.
Verizon just called in the most gloriously on-brand villain squad in advertising history. The telecom giant has reunited the Austin Powers cast: Mike Myers, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, and Mindy Sterling, for a new commercial fronting its Simplicity Plan launch.
Directed by Jay Roach, who helmed the original Austin Powers trilogy, the spot features Dr. Evil unveiling “Menace Mobile,” only for his own crew to point out that confusing phone plans are already the industry norm, not evil at all. Cue Verizon’s pitch.
This marks the second time the foursome have reprised their roles together for a brand campaign, having previously starred in General Motors’ “Dr. EV-il” Super Bowl spot in 2022.
For Myers, who received the Academy Icon Award at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2026 and has Shrek 5 in production for 2027, the return was a natural fit.
Lowe, fresh off a Sundance premiere with The Musical and joining Cameron Diaz’s upcoming Amazon MGM rom-com, brings his “Number Two” swagger back to screens. Green and Sterling complete a quartet that audiences have been waiting two decades to see together again.
This is not Verizon’s first foray into pop-culture-driven celebrity casting. The brand has previously worked with Molly Ringwald, Camila Cabello, and recenrtly Connor Storrie and director Nia DaCosta on a cinematic horror-comedy campaign.
The Simplicity Plan campaign runs two to three months, timed to the FIFA World Cup 2026, with a parallel Spanish-language campaign featuring the cast of the original Yo Soy Betty, la Fea.
Takeaways
This campaign is a masterclass in nostalgia marketing done right. Verizon isn’t just tapping familiar faces, it’s weaponizing pop culture irony.
Having Dr. Evil, the ultimate symbol of theatrical villainy, mock the telecom industry’s real-world confusing pricing is sharp, self-aware advertising that lands because it’s true.
The joke works on multiple levels: it jabs at competitors, positions Verizon as the good guy without saying so outright, and earns genuine laughs without feeling forced.
It’s also a reminder of how powerful franchise IP can be in advertising when the talent actually cares. Myers personally shapes every Dr. Evil commercial he signs onto, this isn’t just a licensing deal, it’s creative collaboration. That authenticity translates on screen and into earned media that money can’t fully buy.
For Verizon, this is the latest chapter in a broader strategy of using culturally significant celebrity storytelling rather than traditional telecom ads.
From Nia DaCosta directing Connor Storrie in a horror-comedy short to now reuniting Hollywood’s most beloved villain crew, the brand is consistently betting on entertainment value over spec sheets, and it’s working.
Does having Dr. Evil mock telecom pricing make you trust Verizon more or does it just remind you that every carrier is confusing? With the Austin Powers cast now having done both a GM Super Bowl ad and a Verizon campaign, does frequent character revival cheapen the nostalgia factor, or does it still hit?
