Paddy Power Celebrates EPL Return With Crouch-Led, COVID-Era New Normal Integrated Campaign

Marking the mid-September return of the Premier League season, Irish and UK bookmaker Paddy Power launched a new, multi-channel campaign called ‘New Normal. Same Old Football’.

The TV-led marketing push is fronted by former footballer turned media star Peter Crouch and blends the seriousness of current coronavirus era societal challenges with Crouch and Power Power’s signature comic flourishes.

The main spot, which launched on UK and Irish television on 18 September and which is supported by an extended online version, stars Peter Crouch (and his wife Abbey Clancy) in a domestic setting speak to camera with an optimistic view on the start of the new season.

The hero TVC, which was directed by Oscar nominated director Peter Cattaneo, follows a narrative arc which blends current pandemic challenges, with an upbeat tone about the new season and also stirs up a few of the tribal tensions which the bookie feels make football so great.

As well as the lead video, the campaign is also running across print, OOH and social through September.

The campaign was created by Octagon (the global sports and entertainment marketing arm of IPG), produced by Academy Films and post produced by The Quarry for a Paddy Power group including Marketing and Brand Director Michelle Spillane, Head of Brand (Football and Gaming) James O’Reilly, Head of Film & Motion GFX Robin Marks, Head of PR & Mischief Lee Price, Head of Brand, Racing & Ireland Paul Mallon, Head Of Brand Strategy Emer McCarthy, Marketing Manager Will Gunton and Brand Manager Dan Oates.

The Octagon team included Creative Director Josh Green, Creatives Dan Harrison and Jonny Watson, Head of Strategy Henry Nash, Planner Ed McKenna, Managing Director Joel Seymour-Hyde, Client Services Director Yoo-Jin Shin, Group Director Gillian Snowball, Account Manager Florence Daly, Senior Account Executive Bekah Flatman, Head of Delivery Lisa Mesztig, Production Director Roz Barnfield and Agency Producer Sam Farrance.

Michelle Spillane, Paddy Power’s Marketing Director, said: “Many things have changed in the new normal, but football remains the same old game that we love. We wanted to channel the excitement around the new season, while injecting a sense of optimism around the new elements of football – all while leaning on the light-hearted nature of fandom. Peter Crouch is the perfect frontman for this, embracing football as it is now, and giving a new season rallying cry as the Premier League returns fully this weekend.”

Josh Green, Creative Director at Octagon commented: “It’s going to be weird. But on the bright side, we’ve got our football back. Sure, we’ve got fake crowd noise. But Emirates has never sounded so good. Cardboard fans? Bizarre. But they’ll make Liverpool’s new plastic ones feel right at home. It’s all to say – football’s going be different. But at its core, it’ll be the same as always. And that’s what we need right now.’

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