Bookmakers’ marketing activity for Euro 2024 is accelerating, with Ladbrokes the latest company to launch its advertising campaign.
The Entain brand’s Euro campaign ‘Bring your Wave’ aims to celebrate the passion of football fans by utilising the ’Mexican Wave’ stadium celebration.
Launched this week, the advert shows a shopper watching a goal on TV celebrating with a wave, which then spreads across various other people including cashiers, people in an auction room, a judo class, a garden, and finally a football stadium.
The themes of sport bringing various people together, the campaign forms part of Ladbrokes’ ‘We Play Together’ series. This marketing campaign hails back to the last Euros in 2021 with the ‘Drummers’ advert, and has also included the ‘Balloon’ and ‘Rocky’ ad spots.
Anna Kochanska, Marketing Director at Ladbrokes’ fellow Entain brand bwin, said “Bring Your Wave is a rallying cry that will reverberate with football fans across the country.
“Our campaign celebrates their passion, elation and energy, while playfully capturing the mood of the nation.”
The campaign was developed by London-based advertising agency neverland, Ladbrokes long-term marketing partner. The agency has been behind the aforementioned “We Play Together” series, including the Drummers, Balloon and Rocky videos.
Rich McGrann, Joint ECD of neverland, remarked: “This time we’re excited to bring the world together around the Euros with a huge Mexican wave.”
Ladbrokes throwing its hat into the marketing ring comes shortly after the brand’s high-street and online rival Paddy Power did the same. The Irish brand launched an England-focused campaign featuring cockney actor Danny Dyer making light-heartened fun of the Three Lions fanbase.
As bookmakers, and other companies with interesting sports marketing, build up advertising campaigns, companies have been warned to adhere to certain standards. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has a range of requirements for corporate marketing, with some specific ones for bookmakers.
Most active players, for example, cannot be included in betting advertising under the CAP Code. In addition, firms of all types – whether betting or not – have been reminded to abide by copyright laws and not present themselves as partners of the tournament, and avoid potentially inflammatory content.
