DraftKings & Martin Lawrence amp up the feeling of NFL betting
Daily fantasy sports leader and sports betting operator DraftKings has had a busy week. After the launch of its own NFT marketplace and the $1.56bn acquisition of Golden Nugget Online, DraftKings is rushing headlong into the football season with a new campaign. Dubbed ‘The Feels’, it stars Martin Lawrence and troupe of comedians who personify the excitement of sports betting.
Martin Lawrence channels the feeling of betting
Indecision. Confidence. Logic. Chill. These are all of the feelings sports fans have when betting on their favorite football teams and players. To get sports fans amped up for all of the feelings that will adjoin the upcoming NFL season, DraftKings has launched a new global campaign headlined by Martin Lawrence.
‘Feel all the football feels’ centers around a troupe of comedians who personify the rollercoaster ride of emotions that comes with betting on sports. It invites viewers to ‘download the DraftKings sportsbook app to feel the NFL action like never before’.
DraftKings, the official sports betting partner of the National Football League, is riding the hot hand. On Monday, it shook up the sports betting world with the $1.56bn acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming. The all-stock transaction gives DraftKings access to Golden Nugget’s five million customers and its iGaming product, as well as the ability to leverage its well-known brand.
Yesterday it also launched the DraftKings Marketplace. This NFT ecosystem is dropping its ‘preseason access collection’ this week. This includes NFT collectibles from Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Naomi Osaka, Tiger Woods and other all-time sports greats.
DraftKings’s new NFL effort will build off of all of this momentum, as well as the accompanying buzz of the bevy of fantasy football drafts currently under way. The new ads star Christopher Mintz-Plasse (from Superbad), Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers, Flight of the Conchords), Timothy Simons (Veep) and Dascha Polanco (Orange is the New Black), in addition to Lawrence (Bad Boys, Martin). In one spot, the characters openly debate if their bet on the New York Giants was a good one (spoiler alert: it was). In the second spot, confidence and indecision go head-to-head on an aggressive bet (confidence wins).
All of these moves come as legalized sports betting gains steam across the United States. DraftKings’s sports and betting operations currently span 17 countries in total.
“Our objective is to continue building a beloved brand, not solely as a sports brand or an online betting brand, but a lifestyle and entertainment technology brand – a community for the passionate, thrill-seeking ‘skin in the game’ fans out there,” Michael Shonkoff, DraftKings’s vice-president of brand and sports marketing, tells The Drum. “By delivering a best-in-class product that’s fueled by our spirit of innovation and passion, we continue to move the industry forward: whether through exciting products, promotions and events you’ll see over the 2021 NFL season, or in our recent expansion into the NFT space with our Marketplace launch. Where we can serve our fans, we’ll continue to create and invest.”
The new spots will run both nationally and locally on network and cable television, in addition to streaming platforms YouTube, ESPN and NFL Network. Digitally, the campaign will be supported on social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok and Reddit.