Paul Giamatti plays Scrooge in Verizon holiday ad

Paul Giamatti is the latest actor to play Scrooge in a holiday ad, in a spot for Verizon that highlights some of the company's Black Friday offers this year. Last year we saw a holiday campaign from Peloton in which "Fleabag" actor Brett Gelman played the curmudgeonly Dickens character. Here, "Billions" actor Giamatti plays him in a slightly more affable style, accompanied by SNL's Cecily Strong, who encourages Giamatti’s Ebenezer Scrooge to see the error of his ways as he struggles with spotty reception in Ye Olde Town Center. He's persuaded to switch to Verizon for a free 5G phone. The ad was created by McCann New York and was directed by Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man. Giamatti is no stranger to advertising, having appeared in spots for Volkswagen and Burger King in recent years and voiced a spot for Coors Light. The brand is also kicking off a season-long social activation on Nov. 17 that turns to animated holiday classics for upgraded gift ideas available at Verizon. The campaign begins taking inspiration from "A Year Without A Santa Claus" and will revisit additional iconic holiday films throughout the season. Verizon also plans to debut Spanish-language holiday spot starring Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernandez, during the Latin Grammys. "Leveraging iconic holiday classics with a contemporary comedic twist, our holiday campaign reinforces the power of our network, and the value Verizon can provide - two things we know customers are looking for," said Verizon SVP, Marketing Activation & Creative, Kristin McHugh, in a statement. "Paul Giamatti and Cecily Strong brought magic and charm to the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, who we’re sure would have been a fan of getting a gift for himself, and a gift to give away, all on us."

Paul Giamatti plays Scrooge in Verizon holiday ad

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