Ladbrokes unveils Rocky-inspired ad to industry acclaim
New TV campaign created in Hungary and the UK used more than 250 costumed characters and state-of-the-art visual effects
Ladbrokes has launched its latest marketing campaign with the recreation of an iconic scene from Rocky II starring Sylvester Stallone.
The 90-second short, which features the character Rocky Balboa followed by scores of sports stars running through the streets of Philadelphia, is the latest to be released by the Entain-owned operator in partnership with creative agency neverland.
The campaign, filmed in Budapest, uses state-of-the-art visual effects to digitally remove the original cast from the clip before reinserting the new footage, matching locations and camera movements to the exact original scene from the 1979 film.
Ladbrokes used more than 250 costumed characters each day during the shoot, including footballers, jockeys, drag queens and wrestlers.
The cast were filmed in a 95-metre by 50-metre studio with 1:1 scale sets built to perfectly match the locations Rocky jogs through, including up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the finale.
The soundtrack to the clip was re-recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with a full vocal and orchestral team.
Ladbrokes presents #WePlayTogether pic.twitter.com/XqGIjUPCrB
— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) August 19, 2022
Stewart Townsend, Ladbrokes head of brand marketing and partnerships, said: “It is great to be part of a huge shoot, taking some iconic cinema and giving it a 2022 twist. There’s a number of firsts in terms of scale with what we are doing here, but also with the techniques on the production.
“The guys have had to work like mathematicians and architects to build out a virtual world to then map out a real world against it and then add people to it.”
Jon Forsyth, neverland co-founder, said this was the most audacious and exciting creative idea he has ever been involved with.
“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.”
Rocky, which was directed by Nicolai Fugslig, who created the iconic Sony Bravia advert with the bouncing balls in San Francisco, follows Ladbrokes’ recent Balloon and Drummers campaigns, both launched in partnership with neverland as part of the firm’s We Play Together initiative.
Elsewhere, Ladbrokes parent company Entain paid £17m to the UK Gambling Commission last week over a series of social responsibility and AML failings.