DraftKings Bets Big on Kevin Hart and Free Wagers in Latest Super Bowl Spot
David Ortiz, Ludacris, Tony Hawk and The Undertaker are among the celebs in on the action as the sports gaming site seeks continued growth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ngWuMGmN0&ab_channel=DraftKings
When DraftKings ran its first Super Bowl ads in 2021, roughly a dozen states allowed sports betting and only eight permitted online wagering. Its luck has changed somewhat since.
That year, DraftKings largely promoted its daily fantasy sports game and a $55 million in-game prediction competition with two 15-second Super Bowl ads. Last year, it recruited actress Emily James and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath for its “Fortune: Life’s a Gamble” campaign that gave away 10,000 free bets, including five $1 million wagers.
In 2023, DraftKings enters its third Super Bowl with online and casino operations in 20 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada, and the ability to openly promote sports betting by giving away free wagers to anyone who wants them. A 30-second spot with longtime spokesman Kevin Hart, produced by DraftKings and Hart’s Hartbeat, will run in the game’s first quarter during its second commercial break.
The spot finds Hart at a Super Bowl party in his Malibu home pitching free bets and hearing speculation about his Super Bowl bet from famous houseguests. Introduced by way of Austin Powers-style rapid-fired enjambment, celebs including David Ortiz, Emmitt Smith, Ludacris, Julius Erving, Lisa Leslie, The Undertaker and Tony Hawk circulate throughout the scene and take the occasional gambling-flavored shot at his diminutive stature.
“We are in a unique position to be one of those brands where the product we offer can really be part of the thing you’re watching at that moment,” said Michael Shonkoff, DraftKings’ vp of brand and agency. “The notion of being able to offer a free trial is a great way for us to invite new people in.”
DraftKings spent the NFL season as an official sponsor and odds provider for Thursday Night Football on Amazon and has already paired with Molson Coors on a Super Bowl campaign that lets fans guess which beer brand is in the game. As sports gambling’s reach grows and more U.S. states legalize the practice, DraftKings’ continued presence at the Super Bowl illustrates the importance of a familiar brand, face and voice in a burgeoning market.
Hedging their bets
During last year’s Super Bowl, more than 31 million U.S. adults said they planned to bet upwards of $7.6 billion on the game, according to the American Gaming Association. By the start of the following NFL season, nearly 47 million adults said they planned to put money on games.
That growth is visible in DraftKings’ revenue, which increased 163% from the third quarter of 2022 ($213 million) to the same period this year ($502 million). It’s also evident in not only the presence of DraftKings and its competitors at the Super Bowl, but also in the $738 million the gambling industry spent on advertising during the first nine months of 2022, according to MediaRadar. That’s a 22% increase from 2021 that included a 49% first-quarter jump from Super Bowl spending alone.
It’s why in a year when competing alcohol brands are featuring Serena Williams in their Super Bowl ads and Eli Manning has already appeared in multiple campaigns, Shonkoff noted that Hart is committed exclusively to DraftKings for the Big Game. Hart was the face of DraftKings throughout 2022 and, in a conversation with Adweek’s Jason Lynch last year, expressed his commitment to a long-term brand strategy.
“That’s what it’s about for me: the story,” he said at the time. “It’s not about the one-off. I need things that will last. I think that’s what great partnerships are about.”
With help from longtime DraftKings partner VaynerMedia, which is chipping in on social media this year, DraftKings and Hartbeat built a world around Hart’s character that was as close to an actual Super Bowl party as they could get. With DraftKings “heavy into the infrastructure of Kevin,” Hart told Adweek in 2022, Hartbeat wanted to show the company and Hart’s other partners “what we can do on a larger scale.” In this case, that meant filling a Malibu house with big names who might show up at a Kevin Hart party—even if that meant including Dr. J and Leslie only in non-speaking cameos as Ludacris’ attentive party friends.
“Kevin’s been a great representation of the brand,” Shonkoff said. “He’s an authentic sports fan, he is a great symbol of entertainment, and he’s a great reflection of what we want to bring to our customer.”
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Key Placements: Adweek and The Drum.