Going into last baseball season the great Will Leitch wrote a piece on the complaints by traditional fans about the designated hitter in the National League. The point of the piece was simple…important to talk about? Sure? Earthshattering worthy of massive complaints and hand wringing and protest? Not really. It’s sport. Enjoy it. Its not the end of the world.
I thought of Will’s comment Friday as various social posts came in with regard to a well intoned, creative and disruptive publicity stunt pulled off by the spirts gambling platform PointsBet.
Now we all know how crowded the sports betting category is. With brands like DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesar’s and BetMGM dominating the ad spend race, it takes a lot to make a name for yourself. That’s where PointsBet came into the narrative. With a little surprise, shock and disaster around their spokesperson, NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees. A clip, by an artist, had Brees struck by lightning.
The Twitter account of filmmaker Rafael Hernández had Brees on set in Catatumbo, Venezuela, preparing to film a promotional ad for PointsBet when lightning strikes him and the video abruptly stops. (Catatumbo is a remote lake where lightning strikes 1.6 million times per year.) Was it real?
The social posts were fast and furious and wondering. After a break of a few hours monitoring the buzz and the traffic, PointsBet updated its social posts. “We are aware of the media coverage regarding PointsBet brand ambassador Drew Brees,” the brand said. “We are in communication with Brees’ team and will continue to monitor events throughout the coming hours. At this stage we will not be making any further comment.”
Brees had tweeted on Tuesday that he was traveling to Catatumbo
Later in the day, PointsBet had Brees tell viewers in a clip he is fine while promoting the company’s lightning bets promotional deal. Lightning bets are live in-game bets that allow users to wager on immediate outcomes, such as whether an in-progress offensive drive in a football game will end in a touchdown. ESPN Saints reporter Katherine Terrell texted with Brees, who assured her that he was all right and not struck by lightning.
Fun, disruptive a little edgy stunt designed to gain awareness, cut through the clutter and start casual conversations on a day when no one was talking about Drew Brees or PointsBet right?
Well then came the naysayers and the questioners…saying the stunt went too far, wasn’t funny or took those who had been struck by lightning lightly.
C’mon folks. If you watch the video, Brees, not a professional actor, was his usual self, even coming a cross as a little less polished, which gave the promo even more of a bit of an edge. There weren’t shots of him heading to a hospital, in serious condition or spoofing those who have been afflicted by lighting. And those who bought in and “reported” without doing their homework or asking questions? Maybe the joke was on them a bit.
In the end, the high stakes world of gambling needs ways to cut through and acquire share of voice and with it, new customers. Did that work for PointsBet with this? Way too soon to tell. But if the goal was to have people talk or mention a company they may not know at first blush, and if it drew traffic to the site for a new promotion, then the juice was worth the squeeze.
Maybe not perfect execution, but certainly a worthwhile old fashioned stunt that caught the eye of many.
The doubters, time to go something else to do. We take ourselves maybe a little too seriously.
Score one for PointsBet.
”
