Paddy Power saddled up with BBH London to roll out a ‘Cheltenham 2023’ storytelling style campaign built around the annual horse racing rivalry between Great Britain and Ireland which peaks during the Cheltenham Festival – the Olympic Games of jump racing.
To continue to position itself as an entertainment brand and to promote itself as the go-to option for four days of national hunt racing, the creative focuses on the mostly friendly banter between the Brits and the Irish when they come together annually for the festival – as personified by Irish actor Colm Meaney and former England footballer Peter Crouch.
The campaign, which spans TV, social, print, OOH and radio and rolled out across all channels that form part of the ‘customer journey and funnel’, rolled out from 25 February across the UK and Ireland.
The lead spot sees Meaney alights from a bus packed with Irish racing fans at the gates of Cheltenham to find himself face-to-face with long-time brand ambassador Crouch (all 6ft 7” of him), his wife Abbey Clancy and a group of British racing fans including Barry from Eastenders actor Shaun Williamson.
A comic clash of combative wit and insults ensues with references to the recent British failures at the meeting, the crashing UK economy, Ireland’s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, St Patrick being Welsh and, controversially, a reference to disgraced Prince Andrew’s supposed inability to sweat.
The spot closes with Meaney and Crouch standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they push their way through the turnstiles into the course
The hero commercial, which was helmed by Director Freddie Waters and produced by Pulse, and its supporting creative form a campaign that aims to cement Paddy Power’s status as the UK & Ireland’s ‘most talked about brand’ during the festival.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Paddy Power, what a brand. We’re delighted that our first work is for Cheltenham, such an important event in the horse racing calendar,” commented BBH CEO Karen Martin. “Our lively take on the English vs Irish rivalry offers a fresh perspective on its legacy as a mischievous brand not afraid to have fun. And we’re here for all of it.”
Paddy Power Marketing Director Michelle Spillane added: “As a brand, we take huge pride in our craft as storytellers. The skill comes in spinning tales with strong cultural resonance in a light-hearted way that’s pickled with razor-sharp wit. That’s where the magic lives and how we know it will entertain the hell out of our audience. This style of advertising marks a return to Paddy Power at its best. We wanted to show our customers that their wagers are part of a far broader narrative and get them under starter’s orders for the greatest show in horse racing.”
The campaign was created for an briefed in by a Paddy Power team which included Marketing Director Michelle Spillane, Head Of Strategy Leah Spears, Head Of Marketing Tom Muldowney, Marketing Manager Patrick Boyce, Brand Manager Dean Finn and PR Rachael Kane.
It was conceived and created by a group at creative agency BBH London led by Chief Creative Officer Alex Grieve, Associate Creative Director Luke Till, Associate Creative Director Lawrence Bushell, Copywriter Jonny Durgan, Agency Producer Rory Reames, Assistant Producer Rebecca Ellis, Assistant Producer Valentina Schwendinger, Planner Jonny Turnbull, Business Lead Bobbie Gannon and Account Manager Alexander Boden.
Production was run by Pulse Films with Director Freddie Waters, Executive Producer James Sorton, Head Of Production Chris Harrison, Producer Neil Andrews, Director Of Photography Benjamin Krakun, Production Designer Carly Reddin and Wardrobe heads Scarlet Wallis and Danielle Timperley.
Post production and VFX were by Rascal with VFX Supervisor Andrew Wood, 2D Lead Holly Mclean, 2D Artists James Pratt and Rich DC, Colourist Dan Levy, Executive Producer Matthew Towell, Producer James Beck and Colour Producer Jai Mhach Durban. While editorial was handled by Stitch Editing’s Leo King and music and sound by Black Sheep Music Supervisors Hywel Evans and Daniel Olaifa, plus String And Tins Sound DesignerS Adam Smyth and Jim Stewart and Post Producers Eimear Ní Ghuaire and Olivia Endersby.
Comment
Steeped in event related insight and understanding, this is the first work for the company since agency BBH was appointed to handle the brand’s integrated advertising business in January, 2023.
A bookie brand steeped in its Irish heritage offers racing fans savagely entertaining storytelling sand marks something of a change of approach for what is widely known as a cheekily wicked and extremely mischievous marketer.
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