The Entain PLC owned Ladbrokes reprised the iconic running scene from Silvester Stallone’s iconic Rocky movie for a flagship spot in its ‘We Play Together’ campaign.
The ad, created in harness with agency Neverland, replaces the film’s every Philadelphian extras with a cast of modern characters relating to the various aspects of the company’s offerings and services.
The blockbuster commercial, helmed by Director Nicolai Fuglsig, deploys original, bespoke technology to blend the original footage shot in the city of brotherly love with a digitally-created contemporary cast of hundreds – from sports stars, gymnasts, dancers, drummers and drag queens to racing cars and racehorse jockeys – joining Rocky on his run towards the famous steps leading up to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The spot, which closes with the brand’s ‘We Play Together’ tagline, dropped online on 19 August with a traditional media launch plan by the7stars that included running during the Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight title fight, the House of the Dragon GOT prequel premiere, plus Gogglebox and The Last Leg, and Premier League fixtures on Sky and BT Sport (including a spot at full time in the Manchester United v Liverpool match on 22 August).
The hero spot is supported by a series of digital and social activations to amplify the campaign: including Snapchat Lens enabled posters which bring to life characters from the film to life and which also invite users to enter their world of play, plus the revival of the Rocky scene’s famous, uplifting ‘Gonna Fly Now’ song which returns to the airways via a series of supporting audio ads.
The 250-strong contemporary cast were filmed on a huge set at Origo Studios in Budapest and a behind-the-scenes film also launches today which explains more about the epic scale of the production and the work that has gone into bringing the film to life.
The ad was created by a creative team packed with major movie making experience led by Director Fuglsig (known for creating the Guinness Sapeurs ad and Sony Bravia’s iconic Balls spot) and Director of Photography George Richmond (known for his work on movies such as ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ and ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’) who even sought advice from the inventor of Steadicam – who filmed with the technology for one of the very first times on Rocky II – to match the new footage with the original film as closely as possible.
“Creating this campaign has been incredibly challenging and exciting. Under our endline of ‘We Play Together’ we’re bringing more entertainment and shared experiences to Ladbrokes, and we love to do this in unexpected ways,” explained Entain UK Marketing Director James Kennedy. “This scene is one of the most iconic in movie history and the Rocky Balboa character is a legend of the silver screen, so mixing things up with this piece of movie magic has been a lot of fun. We’re backing Rocky all the way!”
Neverland ECD Jon Forsyth added: “This is the most audacious and exciting creative idea I’ve ever been a part of. I can’t even begin to convey the amount of time, craft and skill that has gone into making this. It sets a new benchmark in film making and I take my red headband off to the talent who have made this crazy idea a reality. Knock out.”
The campaign was briefed in by and created for a Ladbrokes team which included Brand Marketing Director James Kennedy, Head Of Brand Marketing Stewart Townsend, Head Of Media Darran Snatchfold, Senior Brand Manager Benjamin Reeves, Senior Brand Manager Dee Ulusoy, Brand Managers Jonathan Williamson, Abigail Wood, William Peters, Daniel Chandley and Pablo Moreno, Head Of Retail Marketing Lewis Wallace, Group Director Of Consumer PR Simon Clare, Head Of PR Nicola McGeady and PR Manager Alex Apati (with Consumer PR Agency Finn Partners), Head Of Performance Marketing Daniel Toledo, Senior Social Media Manager Teresa Rebelo, Paid Social Media Account Manager Ethan O’Reilly, Senior Display & Programmatic Manager Robert Charles,Programmatic Executive Arthur Caraccio, Internal Communications Buisness Partner Phil Oddy, Group Procurement Manager Helvia Ruiz, Assistant Legal Director Anthony Ladislaus, Compliance Manager Yoithi Inoue, Senior Compliance Manager Suzanne Young, Group Director Of Corporate Affairs Grainne Hurst and Head Of Safer Gambling And External Corporate Affairs Sophie Platts.
The team at agency Neverland included Co-Founder & Acting ECD Jon Forsyth, Co-Founder & Head Of Brand Strategy Simon Massey, Head Of Production Amy Coomber, Producer Alex Cowley, Senior Creative Lloyd Daniel, Design Director Rich Kennedy, Business Director Theo Jenkins, Account Manager Kate Middleton and Senior Strategist Clemence Lepinard.
The production company was MJZ, the edit house was Final Cut, with post production by Selected Works, Big Tooth Studios and Irresistible Studios, audio post house 750mph, with music handled by Sony Music, Lost Track Productions and Resilient Music and photography by Making Pictures, retouching by Tag Collective Arts. Media was handled by the7stars and design studio Wave.
Comment
This epic spot is part of the brand’s overarching ‘World Of Play’ brand platform and follows on from Neverland’s previous work for the company led by the ‘Balloon’ and June 2021’s ‘Drummers’ spots.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.