Loyalty is dead but marketing is alive and kicking

Rhodri Giggs, the brother of Wales and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, was unveiled as the face of Paddy Power’s new ‘loyalty’ campaign in February. In the operator’s new tongue-in-cheek TV advert, Rhodri pokes fun at himself and his brother Ryan about their infamous fall-out in 2011.

The two brothers hit the headlines that year when tabloids revealed that Ryan had been having an eight-year affair with his brother’s wife Natasha. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2013 and the saga also appeared to end in 2015, when Ryan apologised to his brother for the whole sorry episode.

However, the marketing team at Paddy Power decided to reawaken the scandal in 2019 by recruiting Rhodri as their new brand ambassador, while putting the Welshman front-and-centre of their new-multi-channel campaign for Paddy’s Rewards Club.

The TV short caused a serious stir on social media and includes a scene where Rhodri groans as Wales lose a football match, before beaming at the camera as the commentator says ‘questions will be asked of the manager’ as his brother Ryan is now in charge of the Welsh national team.

When asked what his sibling would think of the advert, Rhodri said: “I’m sure after the initial defensiveness he’ll have a laugh about it. It’s funny. The whole thing is just me poking fun at the situation, because I’m over it. I’m not in the dark place I was years ago. I’ve moved on, he’s moved on and my ex-wife has moved on.”

After the ad bubbled nicely on Twitter for almost 24 hours, it also hit TV screens in living rooms during a bumper weekend of sport, which included showings during the half-time break of Manchester City’s 6-0 thrashing of Chelsea and Wales’ Six Nations clash with Italy.

A Paddy Power spokesperson said: “If you can’t trust your own brother to be loyal, why would you bother with a loyalty scheme? Inspired by Rhodri’s experiences, we’ve decided to create a rewards club rather than loyalty scheme. Paddy’s Rewards Club says that loyalty is dead so you should live for rewards instead.”

Doing things differently

The pivot away from loyalty schemes has been praised by industry insiders and marketers alike. Former Pinnacle and Genting Casinos marketing director Harry Lang says the campaign is another example of Paddy Power outdoing the competition in a marketing capacity by thinking outside the box, while at the same time, staying on-brand.

Lang, who is also the MD of consultancy firm Brand Architects, tells EGR Marketing: “To be known as the brother of a millionaire sporting superstar might be considered unfortunate. But to be cuckolded by that same brother must’ve made Rhodri Giggs feel like the unluckiest man alive.

“That is until he was approached by Paddy Power with a sack load of cash and a witty script and told he had the chance for some very public pay back while selling the bookmaker’s new rewards programme. Rhodri rightfully grabbed the money, sold out his brother and has now starred in one of the best below the belt shin-kickings ever seen in advertising.

“The ad is beautifully crafted around the theme of rewards over the overrated and easily-broken sentiment of loyalty, combined with three or four excellent digs about Ryan. It’s close to the edge for sure, but the football and betting audience this was aimed at would’ve lapped it up,” adds Lang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQL4tl0U_5o

Lang’s claim that a football betting audience would have enjoyed the ad is reinforced by the data. A five-minute scroll through Twitter would have been evidence enough, with online personalities losing their minds over the campaign but the cold hard numbers also back this up as cited by YouGov’s UK head of data products, Amelia Brophy.

“The general reception on Twitter has been gleeful, with football supporters enjoying the controversy and the mischievous humour, but was the advert well received by all?” asks Brophy. “Looking at YouGov’s BrandIndex data, we can see that the buzz created by the advert was significant. The advert was well received and had the greatest impact on those who have either visited a bingo club, visited a casino, gambled online, or placed a bet with a bookie online or in store.”

Brophy does however admit that the subtle humour of the advert, and Paddy Power’s assumption that viewers and customers will already be aware of the Rhodri/Ryan conflict, might mean that the campaign’s message is lost on those viewers that aren’t “in-the-know”.

“The subject of the advert does mean its audience is limited,” concedes Brophy. “Many won’t be aware of the Giggs scandal, particularly if they don’t follow sports or sporting celebrities. It definitely struck a chord with the audience it was intended for, and the pithy jokes and nudge-nudge humour won’t have been lost on them. However, it is worth mentioning that controversial adverts such as this, which are aimed at one type of audience, will definitely miss the mark with others,” she adds.

League of their own

Paddy Power remains in a league of its own in terms of gambling industry marketing. The Irish operator often hits the nail on the head with the kind of creativity and brand authenticity that is so lacking from the advertising of many of its counterparts in the UK’s betting and gaming industry.

Kevan Barber, creative and insights manager at PR agency Grayling, thinks the operator has demonstrated its superiority again by subverting the genre through opting for Rhodri Giggs, ahead of more established sports stars.

“While agencies often seek bigger budgets to get mainstream celeb talent, it’s good to see proper thought going into the face of this campaign,” Barber told Creative Moment. “It would have been easy for Paddy Power to sign up a one-club man like a Tony Adams or Paul Scholes, but the ad is all the more smart and witty for taking a moment to flip loyalty on its head and seek talent on the periphery of sport.”

It is not just Paddy Power that should receive all the credit for this campaign though. The TV advert was created by Chime creatives Christine Turner, Kevin Master, Chris Willis and Paul Kocur and was directed by Peter Cattaneo, who is best known for Oscar-nominated British cult film, The Full Monty.

Several social commentators, including Radio 2 legend Trevor Nelson, were horrified by the ad. “That Rhodri Giggs Paddy Power ad is almost as out of order as what his brother did,” tweeted the DJ. Not everybody agrees the campaign is a stroke of genius, but one thing that makes a great advert is engagement. And Paddy Power, to its delight, still has the power to divide opinion.