Photo Credit: Eric Liebowitz/The CW

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Toothy trust-fund babies claw their way to the top of the social set in CW’s “Gossip Girl.” But in real life, it’s marketers that fought to get their mobile devices into the hands of the teen cast.

Verizon Wireless won a four-way scrum among the nation’s biggest telecommunications marketers — Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T — to nab its multimillion-dollar role in “Gossip Girl.”

Reluctant to talk

Since admitting to one’s desire to be in with the in-crowd is unseemly, those who didn’t get invited to the party were understandably reluctant to talk about it. AT&T’s wireless unit looks at a “variety of opportunities,” said a spokesman, while T-Mobile said it “had no information” about looking at “Gossip Girl.” Sprint executives were unavailable to comment. The winner, naturally, was gracious in victory. “I can understand there being an appetite for a partnership with ‘Gossip Girl,’” said Lou Rossi, Verizon Wireless’ director-media and sponsorships.

So will viewers. The wealthy Manhattan teens at the center of “Gossip Girl” routinely use Verizon Wireless phones to talk to friends, send text messages, and even locate a seedy gambling den. Each character has his or her own phone, with Serena van der Woodsen — the show’s queen bee — using a blue LG Chocolate 2.0; rival Blair Waldorf makes do with an orange EnV. Serena’s not-so-well-to-do suitor, Dan Humphrey, sports a Motorola Krzr.

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