Online gambling company Sportsbet have released their latest ad, during which three of the AFL’s most well-known journalists and commentators are brought into the court house, each facing their own accusations.
More specifically, Damian Barrett, Kane Cornes and Sam McClure take part in the ad as they are all called to appear in front of a jury of their peers.
The ad starts with a “news bulletin” by Sportsbet, which quickly switches out to courthouse coverage. Barrett is the first to make an appearance, fighting off a group of rampaging journos who are struggling to get a statement from him.
Among the “accusations” that Barrett faces is that of “excessive clickbaiting” through his Tweets, with Sportsbet informing viewers that his use of the terms “exclusive” and “shockwave” have been deemed “careless and intentional”.
An obviously disturbed Barrett points out that “what happened will shake the industry to its core”, with images of the jury – made up of three footy fans – shown condemning his online behaviour and exlaiming that “enough is enough”.
Next to take the stand was “failed fireman” (as described by the ad) Kane Cornes, charged for making himself the “centre of the story” in a televised discussion about one of Collingwood’s rising stars. Cornes was found guilty and was punished by the removal of the tick from his Twitter account.
The last to face the “court” in Sportsbet’s ad was Sam McClure. The Nine Network journalist was facing “accusations” of operating a shadow account on Twitter, for which he was found guilty.
In statements he made outside the “court”, McClure said he will be appealing against the decision, until he noticed that his faced had not been blurred by the cameras.
These “slam dunk” tribunals were concluded with all three journos being put “on notice”.
Sportsbet’s hilarious new campaign will surely be popular among AFL viewers and even outside that audience, as all participants are fully committed to their roles, creating an excellent result!
