Commercial sense: how operators’ TV advertising is evolving in the face of increased regulation

When Sylvester Stallone ascended the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art more than 40 years ago in the iconic training scene from Rocky II, the idea a UK-facing bookmaker would repurpose those moments as part of a new era of advertising would not have crossed his mind, it is fair to assume.

The improbability would be comparable to that of Balboa lifting himself from the canvas to land a knockout blow to Apollo Creed but, four decades later, as regulations and attitudes have shifted in the gambling world, marketers are venturing into unheralded territory to make their mark.

The new 90-second clip, created with agency neverland, showcases scores of characters running through the streets of Philadelphia alongside Balboa, with Ladbrokes using more than 250 costumed cast members across filming locations in Hungary and the UK, combined with a full vocal and orchestral team, to produce the ad.

The cast were filmed in a 95mx50m studio with 1:1 scale sets built to perfectly replicate the locations Rocky runs through, in what neverland co-founder Jon Forsyth dubs the “most audacious and exciting creative idea” he has ever been involved with.

The key here, until the final second, when Ladbrokes’ red and white title card flashes onto the screen, is that it looks nothing like a gambling advert. It could easily be for a startup bank or a health drink. This new epoch of gambling advertising, moving away from the brash, in-your-face product promotion and attention-grabbing motifs, has well and truly been ushered in.
Good old days
“The days of loud, shouty advertising are over,” says Kindred Group’s UK head of corporate affairs Tom Banks, as if to coronate the new era. With gambling continuing to find itself in the crosshairs of politicians, regulators and public reformers, there is a whiff of the industry jumping before it’s been pushed.

There is a far greater need to toe the line and adhere to societal and legislative expectation in recent years and, with its first line of attack in the shape of advertising, this is the first to lower its usual arsenal of weapons. The cache is far more subtle, with firms looking to tap into a sense of community and camaraderie. There are, of course, traditional adverts that continue to dominate
TV screens. Ray Winstone’s booming cockney voice for bet365 and Peter Crouch imploring Paddy Power customers to make use of bet builders are standard, but a definite sea change is afoot.

Speaking to EGR, former Matchbook chief marketing officer and ex-BetVictor director of brand Shane Stafford views this as a “positive” change, with ads moving away from what was essentially “singing from the same hymn book”, with little to differentiate between campaigns. The need to stand out against the throng, especially in the crowded UK market, is of even greater importance ahead of the release of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review. While it remains unclear what the white paper will include, the banning of sponsorships in sport and greater restrictions on advertising are not out of the realm of possibility, provoking a shift in attitudes not just in marketing departments but across businesses as a whole.

Stafford continues: “Over the last few years, this has changed slowly to a brand-leading message, some companies did this as a strategy, be it through tightening of restrictions or following the trend. It’s a positive change in my opinion. I think society in general is very polar at the moment and it’s very hard to avoid the negative connotation associated with gambling. Firms want to change that perception, a community and a sense of belonging helps that.”

Coupled with shifting to a meta-style of advertising and promotion, responsible gambling (RG) messaging continues to also take precedence. The Betting and Gaming Council introduced voluntary measures for its members to dedicate 20% of their advertising to safer gambling messages across all mediums, something Banks remains committed to when looking towards the future of industry marketing.

He says: “Kindred has always been clear that the tone of advertising is a crucial part of the debate on gambling operators and our continued ability to advertise. We’ve continued to leverage our assets to promote responsible gambling messaging, and believe this forms part of the future of gambling advertising.”
Just do it
One firm looking to get its foot in the door and its brand in people’s faces before further potential stringent regulation is betting exchange and sportsbook operator Smarkets. At the end of July, the company launched a new ad for its SBK sportsbook app. But it wasn’t as simple as that. The ad, which features CEO Jason Trost as the leading man, was created by former Paddy Power head of mischief Ken Robertson and sees Trost taking aim at the industry’s “old guard”.

Smarkets launched a new ad for its SBK sportsbook app in July

TV advertising in the UK must be cleared by the regulator Clearcast, with the body arguing the SBK short would have brought advertising into disrepute. Trost and SBK took the decision to launch the ad across the internet and out-of-home locations, with the tagline ‘the ad we weren’t allowed to make. But made it anyway’.

“I was really pissed off about it, it was very anti-commerce in a way. It’s obviously important that ads don’t lie but having a bit of fun at your competitor’s expense, I mean come on,” Trost tells EGR in a frustrated tone. Having taken inspiration from ads back home in the US for Dollar Shave Club, Trost wanted to use the campaign to establish what the SBK brand stands for, and how it can proposition itself as something different from the rest of the industry.

Trost adds that he and his team were not expecting the ad to be bounced back by Clearcast but chose not to challenge the ruling and instead morphed the campaign into its current form. London Underground users will have seen Trost beaming back at them, cricket bat in hand, with the short also visible across social media platforms. While disappointed with Clearcast’s decision, changing consumption habits means that the firm’s ROI hasn’t been as impacted as it could have been.

Trost explains: “If you’re on TV, people trust you a little bit more. So, we lose out on that. But I think since TV is dying – at least linear TV is dying and people are used to YouTube as a primary source – I think we don’t lose as much as we would have five or 10 years ago. But I think it still would have been better from a trust perspective if people saw us on TV.”

Despite not making it onto our TV sets, Trost says the ad is “starting to deliver” and getting the SBK name out there. He notes the campaign wasn’t designed to smash records on customer sign-ups, but instead to go the way of legacy brands in the UK and become more of a household and conversational name in sports betting. Reflecting on the wider advertising environment, Trost takes an alternative view to Stafford and Banks, arguing that call-to-action campaigns will continue to run, but notes that UK ads are suffering from regulation such as that administered by Clearcast.

While the Smarkets ad is less about camaraderie than the Ladbrokes ‘We Play’ campaign, which includes previous shorts ‘Balloon’ and ‘Drummers’, there is still a different feel to it from ads of the past. Using Trost as the key figure in the campaign, another idea influenced by the Dollar Shave Club, adds a layer of personability to the short.

“If you pay attention to UK ads, they’re so bland, and it’s because of Clearcast. I think it makes the ads a lot less entertaining,” the Smarkets CEO says. “I don’t think in the future ads are going to change too much. What you’re talking about is whether brand advertising is going to go away in the industry, and I don’t think it is. If you’ve looked at the history of gambling ads, some are branding and some are more call to action. I think you’ll continue to see both.”

While it might not suit Trost’s palate, this so-called blandness calms regulators. Removing potential red flags and negative connotations around advertising is the aim, with Europe leading the way. Over in the US, in the world of $3,000 sign-up bonuses and mega-marketing campaigns, Trost argues the change will eventually switch to a European way of thinking.

He adds: “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that maybe if you’re giving a new customer $3,000 for just signing up, you might be losing $2m a day. I think that era is going to come to an end. So, they’ll have to get more reasonable as they do in the UK.”
Put a CAP on it
Alongside tackling battles with Clearcast and gambling regulators, UK-facing operators were dealt a blow from the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) on 1 October when operators were banned from using sports and entertainment stars popular with the under-18s.

This change has been another factor in marketers being proactive rather than reactive, the amalgamation of external factors having forced hands to shift away from the bread-and-butter advertising of old. Stafford says the change will be “challenging” for firms but thinks there is an opportunity to carve out disruptive strategies for those quick off the mark.

Lucy Hinton, head of client operations at omni-channel advertising firm Flashtalking by Mediaocean, tells EGR the CAP changes will “likely impact” operators, especially with the shift coming weeks before the first winter World Cup.

She says: “By focusing on relevant messaging for their customers, and also critically using data sensibly to ensure vulnerable customers who shouldn’t be shown gambling ads are removed from ad target lists, they can ensure campaigns are targeted and personalised for the right customers.

“This will not only place brands in a stronger position to create more relevant and compelling ads but will ultimately drive greater engagement,” she adds.

If restrictions continue to snowball at pace, there is an eventual plateau for UK-facing firms. In an extreme scenario, if inspiration is taken from Spain and a late-night advertising window of 1am to 5am is introduced, regulators will be hard pushed to go much further without banning the practice altogether. Looking into his crystal ball, Stafford argues the long-standing brands in the marketplace may well have the edge in the future of customer spend, thanks to recognisability versus attempting to acquire new customers.

He notes: “Traditional advertising will always have its place. CPAs will increase substantially if traditional channels are removed, and you will struggle to keep front-of-mind awareness and trust.

“Eventually, I feel with ever-increasing restrictions, advertising on TV will see its end. This is where the bricks-and-mortar companies will have a distinct advantage. Plus, the top-tier companies will have longer brand affinity, giving them a distinct lead. Finding the right combination for your company will be key and the weighting split will be important,” he adds.

For Trost, regulation around marketing could create a “paradox” but Smarkets’ CEO is happy to see some of the proposed changes being ushered in. Trost backs the removal of sponsorships in football, citing the prevalence of Asia-facing bookmakers as a “giant mistake” but argues tighter regulation across advertising could go too far, and ultimately hurt the industry and the consumer.

Speaking on the potential details in the white paper, Trost muses: “I think they’ll still allow advertising but there’ll be more restriction. There’s a yin and yang with regulation where it usually starts with good intent, which is to protect vulnerable people, but often there is a giant cost that comes with it.

“If they don’t strike a good balance, the consumers can end up suffering more from a lack of competition and worst prices in the industry because of the cost of being compliant with regulation,” he adds.

For now, the gambling industry will have to ride the punches like Balboa and avoid being knocked out by the right hook of regulation. The willingness to engage with change is a positive sign from a RG perspective but the success of smaller firms against household names, and the present threat of sustained cannibalisation of the market, will be what the future holds.