SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
A new advertising campaign has been launched by British bookmaker Coral putting its horse racing and gaming offering on show.
Titled ‘We’re Here For It’, the brand campaign is the first project of Wonderhood Studios since they were commissioned by the Entain brand as its leading creative agency last year, featuring a series of TV ads targeting racing, sports and gaming fans – starting with the Cheltenham Festival on 12 March.
Guy Hobbs, Joint Executive Creative Director at Wonderhood Studios, said: “We’re super excited to be delivering this fresh brand platform to inject some energy into an iconic British brand.
“While the category often lacks authenticity, we set out to celebrate the real racing and gaming lovers of the UK. So to all the fans out there, whether you’re an armchair expert or a stag do legend, we hope you see yourselves in the work.”
The first TV ad is a 30-second piece filmed at the Newbury racecourse, taking viewers in the midst of a horse race. Taking a second look, it can be seen that the racers are not normal jockeys but a cross-section of horse racing fans, carrying the slogan “it’s the fans that make racing what it is”.
The other ad takes place at a Chinese takeaway where a customer is on their phone engaging with Coral’s free-to-play games while waiting for their food. Viewers are then introduced to Coral’s free-to-play offering Rewards Grabber and the firm’s proprietary Coral Coins product.
Jeremy Hemmings, Entain interim Chief Marketing Officer, commented: “Coral is a brand with an incredible heritage and with legions of fans. Our new ‘We’re Here For It’ campaign platform is in recognition of this strong customer relationship and serves as a reiteration of our rock-solid market position.
“This first work in the new campaign represents a gear change for the brand as we project a richer, more entertaining personality, establishing a distinctive new territory within the category.”
Both ads were directed by Keith McCarthy from Object & Animal, which has previously worked with brands like Google, Subaru, and BT.
They will run on TV, video-on-demand and radio, with Out of Home Media (OOH) boosting their visibility during the Cheltenham Festival, in conjunction with print advertising and broadcast sponsorship deals with Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing.
McCarthy added: “I loved the scripts the moment I read them. It was Mad Max meets Martin Parr. Portraiture-powered chaos. The audience wasn’t just observing the action, they were the action.”
