Paddy Power is leveraging the start of the new football season with a new campaign celebrating the commitment of a disabled football fan travelling to an away match.
The campaign is spearheaded by a new spot, called ‘Away Day Footy Fan’, which follows a man overcoming jammed full carriages and supporter stampedes as he journeys to the stadium.
The narrative twist is that despite the challenges of the trip, he has the last laugh at the game itself with a prime pitch side position in the disabled viewing area.
The ad is being promoted across the brand’s digital and social platforms: including its YouTube channel.
The spot, created by betting brand’s regular creative agency Lucky Generals in harness with Mediacom, production company Smuggler and Level Playing Field (an organisation representing disabled sports fans), is part of the bookie’s ongoing ‘You Beauty’ marketing series.
The Level Playing Field charity campaigns to ‘change the obstacles and poor access that disabled sports fans usually face’.
Comment:
This socially positive cause initiative feels like something of a more mature ad approach from a marketer so regularly associated with controversial campaigns that often cross the line of good taste.
From its high PR profile, yet childish #ViveLaBantz ‘Chat Shit, Get Banged’ Russian Embassy OOH challenge at Euro 2016 (see case study), to its ‘Big Game Hunter’ viral at the RWC 2016 (see case study), and its perverse, pun-led Rolf Harris OOH stunt for the 2015 Ashes (see case study),
its ‘Jump In the Back’ immigrants trucks stunt on the streets of Dover.
Spotted at Dover this morning… pic.twitter.com/3RCTQp7mdl
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 2, 2015
and its sponsorship off Dennis Rodman’s hoops tour of North Korea in 2014 (see case study), the brand’s recent marketing heritage has been dominated by shameless self-promotional stunts that caught controversy under the guise of comedy.
We, for one, are pleased at this new direction.
Links:
Paddy Power
https://www.youtube.com/user/PaddyPowerVideo
https://twitter.com/paddypower
https://www.facebook.com/paddypower
Lucky Generals
