Paddy Power

The challenge:

Cheltenham – four days on the jumps and the flagship event in particular for Irish racing fans ever thirsty for victory on British turf. For a few years now Paddy Power has celebrated (stoked?) the great British-Irish rivalry with iconic Colm Meany campaigns. Our challenge then in 2023 was to extend the advertising campaign and ‘own’ Cheltenham for the many thousands of racing fans who can’t attend the Festival itself in a series of Gold Cup Day live events – in Dublin, Galway and London.

The solution:

We staged a Paddy Power Cheltenham takeover, creating three Cheltenham Fanzones that so immersive and entertaining you could say they elipsed the festival – quietly dubbed ‘Fakenham’ – itself. Operating from three city centre venues, these all-ticketed events gave fans a brand experience which mirrored the creative platform created by the brand, translating the Irish-British theme into a full-on day at the races.

With huge screens sharing the racing, live stage show MC’d by well known comics and a series of brand activations, games, giveaways and a huge prize pot – we added mischief and craic at every corner.

Almost 2,000 fans attended in all. The venues were transformed as ‘Paddy does Cheltenham’ spaces, bathed in green, one liners a plenty, Easter Egg gags buried here and there alongside racing tickets, merch and more. Between races punters took a spin on the Wonder Wheel, jockeyed for a go at ‘Yay or Neigh’, competed to find the Perfect Paddy (it was Paddy’s Day after all), and celebrated every British or Irish win as it contributed to ‘Paddy’s Big Pot’. It was belter of a day for any full blooded racing fan, we were proud to create, produce and run it.