Mischief Making: Paddy Power And BBH On Poking The Culture-Fuelled Bear

Tradition goes that when England fans think of football, three things inevitably come to mind: heartache, the song 'Three Lions' and penalties. Paddy Power is a brand rewriting that script; thanks to its work, the narrative is evolving where fans now think of success, fighting for a beer garden booking, and potentially Danny Dyer. 

It’s also one always thinking ahead with an eye firmly on the sporting calendar - whether that's Luke Littler’s win at the World Darts Championships, this season's Premier League (one-sided) title race coming to an end, and even, as revealed by its managing director marketing, Michelle Spillane, the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup set to take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico next year, “It's going to be mental. Just think Trump, Trump, Trump,” she jokes. 

Paramount for the bookmaker's marketing is tapping into cultural beats - knowing what its audience is talking about, why, and how to translate that into the Paddy Power world. Whether that’s including Eddie Hearn in its Christmas campaign, acknowledging Newcastle United’s Saudi takeover, or even alluding to Brexit in its England Euros campaign, it’s a brand snowballing into something much bigger and much funnier. 

However the process isn’t as streamlined as it may seem; unlike most traditional advertising, the Paddy Power and its creative agency, BBH work within the fast-paced, ever-evolving and unpredictable world of sport, often resulting in work being turned around in very short time frames. 

“We’ve had a few heart attacks along the way,” begins Spillane, speaking at Advertising Week Europe. “We once had a song all planned out - a big 80s power ballad, and a very famous artist pulled out at the last minute leaving us literally 24 hours before it was played out without a song. Even once [the England Euros campaign] was signed off, Danny Dyer wasn't even part of it. Then it was the ‘egg and chips por favor’ cameo which became a bigger part. We were also four days before going to broadcast the ad without music locked down.”

Tapping into cultural beats and really hitting the right tone with its audience of sports fans is key to the success of Paddy Power’s work - and one Spillane believes is a real strength the brand holds. Its elbows-out, megaphone-speaking displays of humour has sports fans both entertained and (at times) wound-up that their team of choice is being thrown under the bus. Exactly what it wants.

“With our first ever Christmas campaign, the joke comes from a real fan and the beautiful line of cultural insight about crap gift giving,” explains Luke Till, associative creative director at BBH London. “The formula that has given us the most joyous creative is finding what is the truth and tension in a particular thing. For us, it was the truth of you probably don't choose your own football team; football fans live for the joyous moments that really don't come very often.”

Spillane adds that the decision to create a Christmas campaign was very last minute - September for an early December roll-out.

“We asked ourselves: ‘How do we play Christmas?’. It's a very nostalgic time of year but that's not massively who we are. There’s a huge risk of getting it wrong, and you’re playing with giants in that space. But the reward of getting it right is also really huge for us.” 

The campaign activity also include out-of-home work that playfully aimed at Premier League teams with billboards outside their stadiums including Tottenham’s trophyless record and the egos of Manchester United fans.

The pair discuss the fine line between punching down on a particular demographic while also being funny a relatable - something that was patrolled strictly. 

“The work gives something to all different kinds of fans of different clubs, and it's giving them the ammunition to have banter with each other. Everyone's fair game,” says Spillane. “That's the kind of tension you're looking for. You don't want to be bitchy - that's never the aim.” 

The banter on social media that inevitably follows new Paddy Power work is always a “thing of joy” to watch for the pair. “There would be thousands of comments of people going back and forward,” she continues. “That's why it was important for us to do six-to-eight clubs because the Spurs fans are laughing at the Arsenal fans, but they’re then laughing at the Spurs version. So, everyone gets their moment to laugh.

“It's a high bar. We've got really strong social following that’s a really big part of our brand. But if you get it wrong, my God, it's very public.”

Creative Collaboration

BBH and Paddy Power have been making creative mischief together for the last two years, with a key component to their successful relationship being trust. 

“The village that is BBH produces such amazing work for us,” begins Spillane. “There’s a method in our madness; we don’t take 12 months to produce work - that’s too long for us. It takes people who are very resilient, very courageous and can work in very intense timeframes with an intense client to produce great work.

“You are playing with big cultural tropes and there's a real bravery in that. You're not running to research, you're having to go by instinct,” she continues. “We built a real trust between us very quickly in each other. We trust [BBH] implicitly with ideas and recommendations and back them because it’s the only way to work.”

The future of Paddy Power’s creativity will continue to cause a stir - but there’s one thing for sure: there is most certainly method behind its madness.