Well they Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.
Dear Dr. Ads,
There I was, minding my own business and checking out MediaPost’s Marketing Daily, when I came across Danielle Oster’s piece about the new teaser ad for FanDuel’s upcoming Super Bowl commercial/canoodle with the Fox broadcast network.
Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning stares at a screen with the word “Destiny” under an image of a football goal post over a cosmic background in the latest teaser for FanDuel’s upcoming “Kick of Destiny 3.”
“They say destiny finds you — unless your dad and brother want you to have a quarterback destiny instead,” Manning intones in the ad’s voiceover. Eli’s philosophical waxing about destiny is interrupted when his brother Peyton — like Eli, a two-time Super Bowl champion — shows up to ask him what he’s doing, followed by a contentious exchange.
The new teaser’s playful brotherly rivalry tone is meant to stoke excitement for FanDuel’s “Kick Of Destiny 3” Super Bowl ad, and associated programming.
Wait – and associated programming? Yes, indeed.
The Mannings will have a kickathon during the Super Bowl pre-game show, but first “FanDuel [will call] on fans to place a free bet on which brother will win the competition, with winning picks earning an equal share of $10 million in ‘Bonus Bets’ on the platform.” Then FanDuel’s two spots during the game will recap the competition.
Look, Doc, I know the corn is off the cob, and the days of Super Bowl ads that were standalones – paid (through the nose) commercials that ran during the game and that was that – are long gone. But isn’t this a bit much?
– Bet Noir
Dear BN,
The Doc has already passed judgment on the Axis of Wheedle – the unholy trinity of sports leagues, sports broadcasts, and sports betting. Spoiler alert: It will inevitably become corrosive if not corrupt, despite being pitched as good clean fun.
Exhibit Umpteen: Fanduel’s new teaser for its Super Bowl Adstravaganza.
The Manning brothers have replaced former New England Patriots loose end Rob Gronkowski, who blew his Chip Shots o’ Destiny the last two years. But what remains is the $10 Million in Bonus Bets that who knows how many suckers will divvy up, given that they have a 50-50 chance of picking the winning Manning brother.
Great odds, yeah?
Except so-called bonus bets can quite often be the gambling equivalent of handing out free dime bags of crack on the local street corner. As Jason Quick reported in this New York Times piece, “in 2023, the [sports gambling] industry brought in a record $10.92 billion, up 44.5 percent from 2022, according to the American Gaming Association.”
Beyond that, the rate of gambling problems among sports bettors is at least twice as high as it is for other gamblers, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, which adds that “2.5 million U.S. adults (1%) are estimated to meet the criteria for a severe gambling problem in a given year. Another 5-8 million (2-3%) would be considered to have mild or moderate gambling problems.”
To top it all off, “youth gamblers [read: males 18-30] have higher rates of gambling problems than adults.” A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found that “one-quarter of men under 30 bet on sports online; 10 percent of young men are problem gamblers.”
Of course, sports betting companies like Fanduel always give a nod to problem gambling in their promotional materials. Here’s what appears (not actual size) at the bottom of the Manning vs. Manning teaser for all of the last eight seconds.
The Doc’s diagnosis: We’re laying plenty of eight-to-five that this problem just gets worse the more “bonus bets” get circulated. You can take that to the bank. Or not, odds are.
Ask Doctor Ads 