William Hill brings fast betting to the Australian Open via Fenton Stephens and The Sweet Shop
Following an immensely successful 2016, William Hill has kicked off the new year with a huge spot promoting its official partnership with the Australian Open. Created by Melbourne independent, Fenton Stephens, and directed by the internationally acclaimed John S. Park, via The Sweet Shop, the spot brings a level of speed, excitement and scale never before seen in the Australian betting category.
Opening in Western Australia’s iconic Pinnacles Desert, ‘the punter’, played by Axle Whitehead, announces that ‘fast betting is on its way to the Australian Open’. Then, with the power of William Hill, embodied by a lightsaber-like tennis racquet, he sends a tennis ball, an avatar for fast betting, rocketing across the country towards its eventual destination in the Australian Open.
Says Warren Hebard, chief marketing officer, William Hill: “From strategy through to execution, this is up there with the best work we have ever produced.”
To create the spot, Fenton Stephens pulled together an array of impressive talent while traversing numerous locations across the country to make the biggest, and fastest, betting ad in the market. As well as employing state-of-the-art visual effects and animation, the spot also features Kanye West’s infamous track, ‘Power’.
Says Alex Fenton, creative director, Fenton Stephens: “As official betting partner of the Australian Open, William Hill had to make sure they presented themselves as the home of dynamic and exciting online betting. Faster betting is what punters are after, and with territory so difficult to own in such a crowded segment we had to deliver in spades.”
In support of the TV brand spot, there will be a yet to be announced retail offer campaign, as well as an integrated digital campaign across various platforms.
Client – William Hill
William Hill Chief Marketing Officer- Warren Hebard
William Hill Marketing Manager – Brand & Sponsorship – Emma Mulligan
William Hill Media & Communications Manager – James Burroughs
Creative Agency – Fenton Stephens
Creative Director – Alex Fenton
Digital Creative Director – Sean Birk
Creative Team – Jess Wheeler & Guillermo Carvajal
Director of Planning – Simon Antonis
Head of Account Management – Amy Stephens
Group Account Director – Josh Collins
Account Manager – Dezi Orfanides
Agency Producer – Lisa Ramsay
Production Company – The Sweet Shop
Director – John S. Park
Executive Producer – Edward Pontifex
Producer – Niko Aulich
DOP – Crighton Bone
Managing Partner – Wilf Sweetland
Post Production – Method Studios Melbourne
Editor – John S. Park
Post Producers – Sophie Taylor, Clare Lehner
Flame – Chris Betteridge
Colourist- Edel Rafferty
VFX/CG Animation – Cadre Pictures
Sound – Production Alley
Engineer – Rodney Lowe
Producer – Les Molnar
Music – Kanye West
6 Comments
How long until gambling ads go the way of cigarette and alcohol sponsorship of sport? If you’re a kid growing up these days, you’d think gambling was a normal part of sport. It’s not. I owned an agency, I’d tell the rednecks at William Hill to get a dog up them.
If we have to watch gambling ads then may they all be at least as well done as this
Looks great.
There’s nothing wrong with gambling I’ve never understood the narrative behind anti-gambling. Having money in the bank is a gamble.
If your going to ban gambling ban alcohol and push bikes, both can ruin peoples lives.
This stupidity of Modycoddling and controlling peoples lives for their so called benefit will removes the ability for people to learn from the mistakes.
Looks fantastic, well done J & G!
Noticed how much money bookies are spending on advertising? You couldn’t have missed it. That’s because they operate a system designed specifically to take money off you and offer you very little in return. They always win, everybody knows that.
It appeals to the lower income and more financially needy individuals who see it as a way out of their miserable lives. Once sucked in, it often spirals out of control as these people ‘chase’ their losses.
The bookies always win and the losers can lose everything they have. Everything.
The dice are loaded. You’re not allowed to count cards in a Casino – which is actually just playing the game really well – but because the casino wants to win, they ban it.
The buzzer goes off at the pokies telling someone they’ve just won a massive jackpot and then the security guard explains ‘it went off by mistake, you didn’t actually win.’
Meanwhile no-one ever gets told ‘the buzzer should’ve gone off then, you’ve actually won a million’ – strange that.
Multi millions are spent on advertising a paltry amount on helping the victims.
My two sons, 15 and 18 now think gambling is a normal acceptable thing to do, in fact they think it is the thing to do, when I was that age gambling was seen as the province of the loser, the criminal and the desperate. Which I have to say seems more accurate.
I’m not commenting on the ad, but something has to be done about this normalisation of a vice which can have such grim consequences.
He is great.
Really Great. Always has been.
One of the best. Maybe, the best marketing manager ever.
Ever.
Keep it up legend!