Two actors in prosthetics, made-up up to look like Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, were at the centre of bookmaker Paddy power’s pre-Cheltenham Festival PR stunt.
The shirtless prosthetic presidents appeared on horseback (supposedly on a mount called ‘Trotski’) in a London park, surprising (and shocking) commuters to promote the launch of Paddy Power’s new Cheltenham-Political betting market.
The bare-chested tub-thumping premiers rode bareback around the capital, before holding hands outside the Parliament in Westminster and sharing a kiss in front of Buckingham Palace.
The stunt was, of course, amplified across the brnad’s digital and social channels.
PUTIN YOUR BETS ON! Vladimir Putin & Donald Trump stunned commuters in London this morning ahead of the biggest week in the racing calendar. pic.twitter.com/Moy4dZzvpv
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) March 13, 2017
The strange scene is inspired by the famous 2009 photos of Putin riding shirtless in Siberia’s Tuva region which went viral and become an internet memes.
The stunt sees the bookie aim to tie renewed interest in politics and political betting to the betting behemoth that is the annual Cheltenham Festival.
Unsurprisingly, Paddy Power credits the ‘Trump-factor’ for a sharp increase in political bets – with more than £100k of bets staked since Trump took office.
But the bookie claims that while turnover on political betting markets is expected to top £10m across the industry in 2017, this space is still dwarfed by the £800m expected to be bet industry-wide during Cheltenham week.
Paddy Power’s new Cheltenham-Political betting market offers punters who know their horses from their executive orders the chance to bet on Cheltenham-Politics specials including; Willie Mullins to be Top Trainer and Trump to serve a 2nd Term (7/2), Ruby Walsh to be Top Jockey and Trump to be impeached in 2017 (8/1), and Neon Wolf to win the Novices Hurdle and Sean Spicer to be sacked in 2017 (20/1).
‘Toffs, rowdy footballers, and now world leaders – horse racing gets all sorts excited. With political punting at an all-time high, Vlad and The Donald seemed more than happy to swap nukes for nags ahead of Cheltenham. We’ve seen a huge surge in political bets since Trump took office and with a big week of horseracing ahead it made perfect sense to offer punters the chance to bet on both,’ says the brand’s tabloid style promotional statement.
Activative Comment:
Despite the kissing and the hand holding, this is actually one of cheeky bookie Paddy Power’s softer, less contentious promotional stunts as it aims to generate excitement around jump racing’s biggest week.
The challenger brand’s edgier, more controversial (and offensive?) stunts in recent years have included its Rolf Harris paedophile PR stunt around The Ashes in 2015 (see case study), its ‘Immigrants Jump In The Back’ truck stunt at Dover in the same year,
Spotted at Dover this morning… pic.twitter.com/3RCTQp7mdl
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 2, 2015
plus its sponsorship of former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s hoops tour of North Korea (see case study).
Links:
Paddy Power
https://www.youtube.com/user/PaddyPowerVideo
https://twitter.com/paddypower
Lucky Generals:
Cheltenham Festival:
http://cheltenham.thejockeyclub.co.uk/
