Betfair signs Clive Owen to lead exchange marketing campaign

Betfair has teamed up with actor Clive Owen (star of Children of Men, Closer, Sin City) to launch ‘What are the odds‘, a new integrated campaign to mark the brand’s return to marketing the Betfair Exchange.

The new campaign has been developed by Leo Burnett London as creative lead and will further roll-out a series of educational films across the exchange’s multiple social and digital platforms, laddering up to television, print, radio and tactical outdoor.

The films, due to feature Owen, will work towards offering education to punters on betting, and ‘demystifying’ the ways in which the exchange functions.

Stephen Mault Brand Director at Betfair, said: “Betfair’s heritage lies in the Exchange and we are excited to be launching this fully integrated campaign to promote the product.

“There is a perception that the Exchange can be complicated, and the aim of this campaign is to debunk those myths and demonstrate the unique benefits that the Exchange offers.

“We believe that this new campaign, led by Clive Owen, along with our new education hub, will showcase that the Exchange offers people more ways to bet and more ways to win.”

The campaign reflects the start of a new focus for Betfair on marketing the Exchange, returning to the company’s roots as the world’s first and biggest betting exchange. As part of the campaign, there will also be a new education hub launched for new and existing Betfair customers, to assist them in learning how to bet on the Exchange.

Speaking about the new campaign, Owen added: “It has been an incredibly busy year for me with the launch of the Night of the Iguana and Gemini Man kicking off in October and it’s been great collaborating with Betfair as well. These ads, like the Exchange, are completely different to anything out there and it’s been a cool project to be involved with.”

Chaka Sobhani, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett London, concluded: “The Betfair Exchange is a much smarter way to bet, but can be tricky to understand. We’re excited to work with Clive Owen to come up with a simple and smart way to explain the Exchange whilst entertaining along the way.”