Celebrity Sell Out

Betting heaven: 80s players and a free buffet

The problem with bringing in a celeb to front your campaign – other than the risk them getting caught buying your competitors products – is cost. The fact they’re selling whatever integrity they have, to endorse something they probably don’t even use, will inevitably mean money changing hands.

Hats off then to bookmaker Better Bet, which may have found a way to circumvent this pesky problem. The company has bet each way and brought in former gambling addict and Arsenal footballer Paul Merson to sell its phone betting products and open stores. What a result. In one fell swoop it has ticked a three ‘sellout approval’ boxes. Firstly it is brought in a football player, the more knackered the better, to front its ads. This is a law no self-respecting bookmaker can ignore. Signing up an 80s player who fueled his career with booze and fry-ups is a sign of respectibility in the eyes of the betting public.

Secondly in choosing a man who claims to have wazzed £7m up against betting shop walls it has found someone who seriously endorses its products. Remember Sharon Osbourne preaching thriftiness to Asda shoppers and then moaning in the papers when someone had the cheek to liberate fifty grands-worth of jewelry out of one of her houses. Let’s face it there’s not going to be anything like that here.

And lastly, and this is the best part, by bringing in a gambler to advertise a gambling chain there is every chance you’re going to get your money back. Now that’s a Better way to advertise.