A comic, multi-platform campaign from UK bookmaker Ladbrokes launched on 8 March to drive awareness of and buzz ahead of the 2021 Cheltenham Festival by celebrating how people from all walks of life pick their horses for the races.
The campaign, created by agency BBH, seeks to reminds the UK public that however they pick their horse – which it illustrates through a range of weird and wonderful ways – Ladbrokes has a bet for them.
The campaign is led by a dating style spearhead spot which was created by Olivia Shortland and Stephanie Flynn and directed by Stacy Wall of Rogue Films. It features a full spectrum of the British public talking to camera about what they look for when looking for ‘the one’.
From simply ‘feeling a connection’ or ‘a good vibe’, to ‘long eyelashes’ or ‘the lean, muscular build,’ each scene captures the unique criteria that sits behind each individuals approach to selection. But the viewer is made to believe the topic under discussion is ‘what they each look for in a human partner’ and it only at the payoff that it is revealed they are all talking about racehorses.
The ad is set to an instrumental version of Meat Loaf’s ‘I Would Do Anything For Love’.
The lead film is supported by several cross-channel activations, including radio, print and a digital campaign which includes a microsite complete with a dating app style ‘swipe left/swipe right’ functionality.
The branded site enables users to swipe through their horse selections and see names, profiles, jockey skills and, of course, live odds in order to allow them to pick their horses during the Olympics of the jump racing in the calendar – the Cheltenham Festival.
Another strand of the campaign is a below-the-line partnership with radio DJ Roman Kemp and reality star and horse racing enthusiast Georgia Toffolo. The partnership sees the betting brand team up with former ‘Queen of the Jungle’ and self-confessed racing superfan Toffolo, to help introduce Kemp to the world of jump racing often linking it to his passion for football.
“The Cheltenham Festival is a highlight of the sporting calendar and offers four days of entertainment, which is at the heart of what Ladbrokes represents. Despite it behind closed doors, it is an opportunity for the wonderful sport of horse racing to take centre stage,” explained Ladbrokes and Coral Brand Marketing Director Angela Porter.
“Our new advert brilliantly captures the many ways that people might pick their horse for the big race. We casted a variety of actors and racing enthusiasts to depict the thrilling and inclusive nature of the highlight of the racing calendar.”
BBH Creative Director Nick Gill added: “When you back a horse that horse becomes your horse, and this campaign is all about the unique relationship that exists between customers and the magnificent animals they’ve put their faith in. The accompanying microsite takes the idea even further, enabling you to swipe right to find ‘the one’. This is the first fully integrated campaign we’ve produced for Ladbrokes and, like the customers, we’re very excited about seeing it run!”
The campaign was briefed by and created for Entain Managing Director Dominic Grounsell, Ladbrokes Coral Brand Marketing Director Angela Porter, Ladbrokes Head Of Brand Marketing & Partnerships Stewart Townsend and Ladbrokes Senior Campaign Manager Benjamin Reeves by BBH.
The agency team included BBH Creative Director Nick Gill, Copywriter Olivia Shortland, Art Director Stephanie Flynn, Business Lead Jon Barnes, Senior Account Director Sam Hardy, Account Manager Caitlin Quigley, Account Manager Atalanta Purce, Account Executive Benny Younger and Senior Strategist Robert Meiklejohn.
The BBH film group included Producer Matt Towell and Assistant Producer Rory Reames, with production by Rogue. The Director was Stacy Wall, with Executive Producer Kate Taylor, Producer Maddy Easton, Production Manager Hannah Joy Cooney and DOP Nanu Segal.
On the digital side were BBH Digital Producer Kevin Mccloat, Designers Christian Kolodziejski and Adam Buckland, Art Producer Adam Overton, with Wellcom Technical PM Katie Bloom and Wellcom Lead Developer Manuel Yemoh.
Post was handled by Untold, sound by Ben Gulvin of 750mph, music supervision was from Hywel Evans of Black Sheep Music, media was run by the7Stars and PR by ZPR (a Finn Partners company).
Comment:
This funny and fresh campaign certainly reinforces the company’s brand promise: ‘Ladbrokes – where the nation plays’.
The 2021 Cheltenham Festival will be held between 16 and 19 March. The annual meeting sees the world’s elite jump horses, trainers and jockeys compete over 28 races held across four days and while the stands will be empty this year due to Covid-19 fans can watch every ace live on TV and bet via the Ladbrokes app.
https://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/
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