Paddy Power recruits Peter Crouch for Cheltenham marketing push
Irish operator’s comical viral campaign gets more than one million views on social in first 15 hours
Paddy Power has recruited former Liverpool and England footballer Peter Crouch as its new brand ambassador ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.
The Irish operator has produced a typically tongue-in-cheek video featuring the tall target man as he tries his hand at being a jockey under the guidance of Ruby Walsh.
We’ve signed Peter Crouch as our new Brand Ambassador.
Now we just need some good ideas… pic.twitter.com/g38oXkibAp
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) March 9, 2020
Crouch – who has scored the most headed goals in Premier League history – stars alongside Walsh in the viral marketing short, which has had more than one million views on social in the first 15 hours.
Walsh is the Cheltenham Festival’s most successful jockey.
A Paddy Power spokesperson said: “It’s the Cheltenham Festival, and we’ve managed to convince a very tall bloke to ride a very small horse – what could possibly go wrong?
“Well, quite a bit it turns out, as Crouchy was thrown in the air like a real-life game of Buckaroo, as he swapped xG for the gee-gees,” he added.
Paddy Power unveiled its first Cheltenham-focused ad in February fronted by Star Trek actor Colm Meaney.