More Paddy Power to BBH's Elbow

At the start of the year, Luke Littler from Warrington lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy and made history by becoming the youngest World Darts champion at the age of just 17.

While his achievements are a testament to the power of tenacity and practice (he picked up his first dart at 18 months old and scored his first nine-dart finish at 13), winning the tournament also pocketed him £500,000 prize money. Not bad going for only his second year as a professional.

But he wasn't the only winner - thanks to cheeky Irish bookmaker Paddy Power over £1 million was raised for Prostate Cancer UK during the tournament, with the bookmaker donating £1,000 for every 180 scored (and Littler, of course, hit the most with 76 of the total 907 maximums over the 16-day competition).

On top of the donation for maximum scores, Paddy Power also pledged £60,000 for each nine-dart finish in the event - with both Christian Kist and Damon Heta landing a perfect leg. A further £60,000 went to each player, as well as a randomly-selected fan in the crowd.

The funds raised from the 180 campaign support Prostate Cancer UK's TRANSFORM screening trial, aiming to find the best way to diagnose the disease, which kills 12,000 men annually, early.

With its lairy festive crowds, many of whom are in fancy dress, the annual Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace) event, of which Paddy Power is headline sponsor, is the perfect fit for the bookmaker's long-standing desire not to take life too seriously.

However the activation had a very serious objective (and over 160,000 people used Prostate Cancer UK's online risk-checker during the tournament), albeit done with Paddy Power's characteristic mischievous edge.

In celebration of this hefty donation to charity, we take a look at some of Paddy Power's other 'naughty but nice' campaigns that have been created by BBH - its agency partner of just two years.

'A Shirt’s Not Just For Christmas, It’s For Life’

Ahead of the World Darts, Paddy Power launched its ‘A Shirt’s Not Just For Christmas, It’s For Life’ campaign.

Starring Danny Dyer and Eddie Hearn, the spot is an ode to lifelong football fandom and takes a playful look at the moment every fan knows too well: unwrapping their first football shirt on Christmas morning.

It follows Andy, a long-suffering fan of fictional Hardlypool United, through decades of devotion and disastrous haircuts - kicking off in the ‘80s, where young Andy unwraps his first football shirt from his dad on Christmas morning.

Travelling through countless dodgy haircuts, leaky roofs in stadiums, big-money takeovers, then subsequent heartbreak, we stick with Andy through it all - only to see the cycle repeat as he gifts his own son the same team’s shirt. Poor lad.

'Europe’s Favourites'

Dyer was also cast in Paddy Power's Euro 2024 campaign in the familiar role of pub landlord - albeit with added swagger.

The light-hearted skit took aim as England's position as 'Europe's favourites'. It played with stereotypes - both of England fans and those of our continental rivals.

One of the biggest England rivalries is with serial underperformers north of the border (Scotland). This ad ahead of the Euros played on the surprise that a Scotland fan had when finding his team had qualified for a major tournament, as well as the animus between the two nations.

In the end Scotland got knocked out in the group stages and the team's 17 shots at Euro 2024 was the joint-lowest ever recorded in a group stage – only Northern Ireland, in 2016, showed less attacking threat (and even they managed what Scotland could not and reached the knockouts).

'All Subs Are Super’

Also in last year's 'summer of sport', Paddy Power ran a humorous campaign celebrating the footballing 'Super Sub'.

The ‘All Subs Are Super’ campaign starred Paddy Power ambassadors Peter Crouch and Teddy Sheringham, showcasing a substitutes’ transformation from bet killers to heroes.

The spot opens on a confident punter who’s just put a cheeky bet on ‘The Big Man’. He has barely sat back down before his betting dream is seemingly shattered as his chosen player is subbed off by the manager.

But with Paddy Power’s 'Super Sub' product his bet is rolled over to the player coming on. The camera cuts to a heroic line-up of previously bench-ridden subs revelling in their newly found limelight.

The camera finally cuts to the audience where Crouch proudly claims to have been a Super Sub himself, until he’s quickly reminded by Sheringham that, in fact, he wasn’t.

'Life With More Chances'

Crouch was the butt of a further Paddy Power campaign that promoted its online casino games.

The film takes a tongue-in-cheek look at those sliding door moments that can define peoples' lives. It features Crouch's wife Abbey playing Paddy Power’s 'Wonder Wheel' on her phone, when suddenly her mind starts to wander into the past. From Brexit to potentially problematic baby names and even meeting her beloved husband, we are left wondering what might have been had one of these decisions gone the other way.

When she meets Peter in this alternative world, the audience hears her iconic response; “He’s a bit long isn’t he?! No thanks!” bringing her back to the present moment, and she snuggles happily into her newly replaced husband - former Eastender Shaun Williamson (Barry!)

'Cheltenham 2023'

BBH's debut campaign for Paddy Power broke ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, a traditional favourite for Irish punters, and zeroed in on the competition and banter between the English and the Irish, in February 2023.

It continues the tone the brand had previously adopted, featuring Hollywood's go-to Irish heavy Colm Meaney finding himself face-to-face with Crouch and his coterie at the gates of the racetrack.

The two groups exchange close-to-the-knucle banter (with Crouch bringing up mention of Ireland’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and St Patrick being Welsh. while the Irish reply: “At least he wasn’t English!”).

But an incensed Shaun Williamson finally crosses the line when he levels Meaney with the insult: “Tayto munchers!” He realises he’s taken the name of a hallowed Irish national treasure too far and the awkward exchange is swept to one side as quickly as it began when they realise they’re about to miss the first race.

The spirit of friendly rivalry is evident in most of BBH's work for Paddy Power, as well as a rare ability to tap into genuine emotions of sports fans.

However, its work raising funds for Prostate Cancer at the World Darts shows that beneath that mischievous veneer (no matter your opinion on the rights and wrongs of gambling advertising) there's also some serious intent beyond just making money and having fun. It's also been a great opportunity for BBH to exercise its funny bone in a way that the darts champion Luke Littler would surely approve.