FanDuel returns to Super Bowl with another Rob Gronkowski kick—behind the new strategy

“Kick of Destiny,” FanDuel’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign, was something of a successful failure. While Rob Gronkowski’s live field goal attempt at the center of the campaign missed wide left, the sportsbook was more than satisfied with the brand buzz the stunt generated. On its app, 17 million users placed Super Bowl bets, making them eligible to share in a $10 million “bonus bet” giveaway for a successful kick. Better still, it set up a sequel. “From the moment [Gronkowski] missed last year, he looked up at me and said, ‘Andrew, I’m so sorry. You gotta give me another chance,’” Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive VP of marketing, recalled in an interview. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs And so “Kick of Destiny 2” is on for Super Bowl LVIII. Except this time the spot won’t feature Gronk kicking the field goal as part of a live commercial, as he did last year. Instead, the live kick will air on CBS before the game begins as the penultimate chapter in a five-part story. It will air during a commercial break sometime between the National Anthem and kickoff, allowing FanDuel’s second-quarter game ad to be an outcome-specific “celebration” based on the result, said Sneyd. The ad will be dependent on the outcome of the kick, so two versions of the ad are being prepared. The ad will mark FanDuel’s second Super Bowl appearance. The story arc is meant to drive new FanDuel subscriptions ahead of the Feb. 11 game in Las Vegas. Last year’s campaign helped FanDuel acquire 70% market share of new users, the brand said. The campaign is built around a shot at redemption for Gronkowski, as he again attempts to make a live 25-yard field goal. The brand is adding celebrity firepower to the stunt, with ads also starring wrestler-turned-actor John Cena and actor Carl Weathers. Kay Adams, host of FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams,” will serve as commentator. The Wieden+Kennedy-led campaign will play out over a series of TV and digital media ads leading up to the Super Bowl. The first of these shows a bedraggled Gronk wandering through the desert when Weathers pulls up in a sidecar motorcycle. The actor, who has starred in sports movies such as “Rocky” and “Happy Gilmore,” will play Gronkowski’s trainer and leader of “Team Make”; a rival will later emerge in Cena, who will lead “Team Miss.” While its market strength varies by state, FanDuel is generally recognized as the largest national sportsbook operator, with around 40% of the handle, or total amount wagered, vs. 35% for DraftKings, and 10% each for BetMGM and Caesars, according to Legal Sports Report. Those figures could change as more states approve sports gambling and services win approval to operate in more states. Sports gambling is currently live and legal in 37 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gambling Association. “We’re still in the very early days in this category, so the first job is building our brand with sports lovers overall, and then signing people up to sports betting with us,” Sneyd said. “We’ve got an opportunity for us to connect with new fans and make a splash on Super Bowl Sunday as a leader, and doing it in a way that’s going to help new customers sign up with FanDuel.” Sneyd said the experience of last year encouraged the brand to include an option for customers to bet against Gronkowski this time around. Such “make or miss” bets can be placed up to 5:45 ET on Super Bowl Sunday. Those who made the right choice will share in $10 million in bonus bets (these are essentially bet credits; only winnings from these bets are withdrawable). For FanDuel, generating interest in the weeks before the game is key since that is when gamblers place their Super Bowl bets. “It’s great that we let our customers be involved, and they have something else they can all cheer for on Super Bowl Sunday,” said Sneyd. “We turned it up knowing that we would have people who believe in Gronk, and doubters.” Adding Weathers and Cena to the cast also raises the stakes. “John Cena and Carl Weathers know sports entertainment, and they know sequels,” Sneyd said. FanDuel, a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment, is one of at least two sportsbook brands announcing plans to advertise in the Super Bowl, which will be played in the gambling mecca of Las Vegas. MGM Sportsbook earlier confirmed it would make its Super Bowl ad debut this year. DraftKings, which has advertised in the big game for the past two years, as of press time had not announced its 2024 plans.

FanDuel returns to Super Bowl with another Rob Gronkowski kick—behind the new strategy

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