Ad of the Day: Paddy Power urges Irish to support England at Euros 2020 – for a good cause
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is gearing up for a foray into enemy territory with a campaign for the Euro 2020 tournament, announcing that it will donate at least €10,000 to Irish football for every England goal.
Paddy Power wants to give the Irish a reason to cheer for England this summer
This stance will enable Irish fans to cheer on the boys in white with a clear conscience, safe in the knowledge that everyone can be a winner this summer.
Led by a full-page ad in The Irish Times, creative lead The Public House with production by 9Yards installed an outsize 100x56m St George’s Cross on the Bray Wanderers Ground in County Wicklow – decorating one corner of the Emerald Isle in an unaccustomed combination of red and white.
This patriotic campaign gives football fans on both sides of the Irish Sea something to cheer for. The bookmaker said: “We’re donating €10,000 to Irish football for every England goal at the Euros. If football’s coming home we might as well benefit.”
Leveraging its largesse to bring Irish fans on-side, Paddy Power has also pledged a €20,000 ‘backstabber bonus’ for any time Irish players Jack Grealish or Declan Rice trouble the back of an England opponent’s net.
The mercenary approach to football allegiances should see the Three Lions roar with greater volume. An accompanying video by Irish pundit Eamon Dunphy and Virgin Media pundit Damien Delaney (the other one) hammer home the #SaveOurGame message, which seeks to rescue the sporting season for Ireland after the republic’s ignominious failure to qualify.
A Paddy Power spokesman said: “Irish football fans are the best in the world, and we know they would do anything for the good of the game. We’re not asking them to pledge their allegiance to the Queen. We haven’t totally lost the plot. But for the duration of the Euros, every goal England score is money in the bank for Irish football.
“We want to give Irish fans a reason to cheer this summer... even if it slips out accidentally," says the video you can watch here.
Creative development was undertaken in partnership with Ready10 for the outdoor and print campaign, with media arranged by Mediaworks.
You can view the campaign in full by clicking on the box below. To get in touch about Ad of the Day, please email imogen.watson@thedrum.com.
