Paddy Power and BBH: The Partnership That Plays to Win

“Our brand is such a creative brand, it’s known for its creativity every day,” says Michelle Spillane, Paddy Power’s managing director of marketing, as she explains why its partnership with BBH is especially critical to the business than any agency relationship she’s had before. She sees the bookmaker less as an advertiser and more as a “creator of content and entertainment” – which means its creative agency must mirror that ethos.

“There has to be huge trust within that relationship. We have to trust in the creatives at BBH… we are working with the best people who have to be a fit for us,” she adds, name-checking members of the BBH team as proof of a close, collaborative bond. “That takes a lot to get into place.”

The partnership, now three years old, began not with a pitch but with a meeting at the Groucho Club between Spillane and BBH London CEO Karen Martin. Spillane admits to having “mixed views” on pitching, given its patchy results, and says Paddy Power doesn’t believe in producing “extensive” briefs either. She knew almost immediately, though, that Martin was someone she could work with.

“We were finishing each other's sentences - I knew that she got our business. She understood at her core what we needed and where the brand could and needed to go, and how it needed to evolve.”

With nothing agreed and no pen put to paper, Martin left that first meeting with plenty to think about. Three weeks later, she and her team flew to Dublin to present their ideas for the brand. Spillane recalls the session as a joyous, laughter-filled day – they spent much of the meeting “crying with laughter,” and every single idea on the table could have been made. It was a rare alignment of vision and chemistry: the agency had nailed it, capturing the tone, humour and cultural insight that Paddy Power demanded. From that moment, the foundation for a tightly knit, highly trusted creative partnership was set.

Out of the traps running

The first campaign produced once BBH was on board, would prove Spillane’s instincts to be correct.  In 2023, to promote the annual Cheltenham Festival, a film featuring brand ambassador (and Irish icon) Colm Meany bantering with another icon, this time from England, Peter Crouch.

“We go big on the cultural differences and the slagging and the banter that exists, and people love it, because I think you're showing an optimism. We have to be real about these things. You're showing an optimism and a joy in the world around you and having a good old-fashioned sporting banter. It can be a good way for us all to get along together and that requires huge skill and craft to be able to get to those nuances, the right beats that are going to light up,” says Spillane.

Spillane adds that the campaign was so well received it has become Paddy Power’s answer to Coca-Cola’s iconic ‘Holidays’ Christmas ad, now a tentpole moment rolled out every March.

Luke Till, BBH creative director and partner, explains the process behind the work: when devising a campaign for Paddy Power, the team asks three guiding questions – is it insightful? Does it spark conversation? And, crucially, is it daring? These principles shape every idea, ensuring the brand remains irreverent, culturally tuned-in and unafraid to zag where others zig.

“It's hard to do and hard to get right, but thanks to a legacy of the work, Paddy Power has earned a unique right to be more daring than its rivals,” he shares, discussing the cheeky tone the brand consistently leans into. “It allows you to be punchy and target strategically. They're the brand that says what others won't, a ‘zag’ in a world of ‘zigs’. This established brand personality means they can pull off a level of irreverence that other brands wouldn't even consider. It's no surprise that an agency that preaches ‘zagging.’

Created in just two months, Spillane sees ‘Cheltenham 2023’ as a true acid test for the partnership, calling it “one of the best ads we’ve made. It’s a beautiful piece of work.” Its success, she says, lies in its ability to make people stop and watch – a phenomenon she’s witnessed firsthand in Irish pubs. Each year the campaign runs, brand metrics climb, and with its impact so clear, it’s already slated to return in 2026.

Walking the line

The bookmaker’s cheeky humour runs across all its communications, from TV to social media, taking no prisoners while staying topical around sporting developments.

More often than not, it hits the mark too, but that comes from a high level of scrutiny on every piece of work, from everyday social messaging produced in-house to the ad campaigns from BBH.

“For those massive pieces of work, the starting point with those is always asking, 'What is the universal truth in there that everyone's talking about, that everyone believes?” But what is the expression of that truth that's true, but nobody has said it in that way,” shares Spillane.

That mantra is reflected in the Christmas campaign featuring the ubiquitous Danny Dyer and an ad that explores the enforced devotion fans have to their football clubs, passed down from generation to generation - the rollercoaster of emotions they ride season after season, often without having chosen it themselves.

“Football fans loved that because it's true. You're taking that truth and bringing it to life in an entertaining but surprising way that others haven't thought about. And that is part of the formula that we look for,” she explains. She adds that the aim is to drive shareability while having audiences ask, “How did they do that?’ It is content made to be shared across WhatsApp groups.

Another more recent example of that saw the brand release its own dating campaign, showcasing the wide range of ideas that Paddy Power can operate across, as the sponsor of Channel 4’s ‘First Dates’ series. It featured a series of star cameos, led by Peter Crouch, set within its very own ‘Café du Chanceʼ.

On the cards

The two partners are currently tackling a couple of briefs – one for gaming, which Spillane calls “super ambitious” from BBH, while also focusing on strategy aimed at delivering “category-leading bold work.”

“Our relationship is definitely maturing whereby we are able to have those really important business conversations to go, ‘Here is an area of our business that is super important for growth.’ It's highly complex for us. It's like multi-audience - three different key audiences, winning in that space, ‘How do we become the leader?’ And that's amazing to be able to get to a place where you know that they are a partner that can help you get there,” she says.

This is a creative partnership clearly built to last – and one that looks set to keep raising the bar for years to come.