Sportsbet has launched its new campaign for the World Cup, bringing together big visual comedy, straight-faced sports commentary and polished broadcast craft to capture the energy of football’s biggest stage.
The campaign leans into the heightened emotion and spectacle that surrounds the World Cup, treating each spot like a live broadcast moment that has taken a very unexpected turn.
The spots feature a Brazilian striker taking a dive a little too far, the Mexican team building a huge wall against the US and VAR denying England a goal by a pimple!
Allison Tall, head of brand, advertising and PR at Sportsbet, said the campaign was about creating work that felt big enough for the World Cup while staying true to Sportsbet’s distinctive sense of humour.
“The World Cup gives us permission to go big, but the best Sportsbet work always comes back to a simple, funny idea executed really well,” Tall said.
“Our creative team built a campaign with strong visual comedy at its core, and Palomina brought the craft, scale and restraint needed to make those moments land.
“It was important that the spots felt like authentic football broadcasts, because that is what makes the comedy work. Everyone involved understood that balance, and the result is a campaign that feels entertaining, distinctive and unmistakably Sportsbet.”
With Palomina director Julian Lucas behind the camera, the campaign brings a polished football broadcast feel to each comic moment.
“The scripts had big visual gags already baked in, so the fun was in treating each spot like a real broadcast and finding that line where the comedy plays completely straight,” Lucas said.
The campaign launched across TV, BVOD, digital and social over the past week.
Credits:
Client/Creative: Sportsbet
Chief Marketing Officer: Mark Migliorini
GM Brand, Advertising & Content: Yuta Kobayashi
Head of Brand, Advertising & PR: Allison Tall
Brand Manager: Tayla Petty
Campaign Manager: Chelsea Lucarelli
Head of Production, Shows & Owned Content: Jason Thatcher
Executive Creative Director: Rambo Goraya
Creative Director: Callan McKean
Senior Creatives: Shaun Conroy, Nick Weller & John Pantzopoulos
Creative: Jamie McGloin
Production Company: Palomina
Director: Julian Lucas
Producer: Rachel Gilkison
Executive Producer: Kate Merrin
Director of Photography: Jason Hargreaves
Production Designer: Laura Elkington
Costume Designer: Fior Galderisi
Hair & Make Up Designer: Emma-Louise Downie
Casting: Northside Casting & Bud Hopes Casting
Offline Editor: James Ashbolt
Online Editor / VFX: Eugene Richards @ Parallel Post
Colourist: Edel Rafferty
Sound Design: Bang Bang Studios
