FanDuel’s Super Bowl plans include a live ad starring Rob Gronkowski and a $10 million giveaway

FanDuel sat out last year’s Super Bowl for fear that advertising a sports betting brand after the game already started—and most bets were placed—amounted to a waste of money. But this year, the brand says it has cracked the formula to raise interest before the game while also running an in-game ad—and it involves Rob Gronkowski.

The brand enlisted the legendary NFL tight end to attempt a 25-yard field goal in a spot that will be aired live during the first commercial break of the third quarter of the Feb. 12 game on Fox. The stunt will take place at a venue near the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona where the real game will be played. Here is the catch: If Gronk makes the kick, fans who placed a bet on the Super Bowl with FanDuel will win a share of a $10 million pot. 

Wieden+Kennedy New York is behind the campaign.

The brand in the coming weeks will promote the field goal attempt with ads on TV, social media and other digital channels in a move to drive FanDuel subscriptions ahead of what is the biggest gambling day of the year.

“This will be the only moment where every single viewer can be rooting for the same thing—everybody who's placed a wager on FanDuel, regardless of what it's on for the Super Bowl, gets into the mix,” said Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive VP of marketing.

For last year’s game, FanDuel limited its ads to pre-game buys. Referring to the fact that most people place bets before the game, Sneyd at the time made a Halloween comparison, saying spending during the game would be akin to a candy company advertising while kids are already trick-or-treating. It ended up luring 8 million bets placed on the 2022 game—a sizeable figure, but one that it no doubt would like to exceed this year.

Of course, some viewers will be shut out of FanDuel’s 2023 prize pot: Sports betting is only legal and operational in 32 states, plus Washington, D.C., and FanDuel at present only operates sports betting in 18 states. 

As for why the brand went with a national in-game ad, rather than local buys in those markets, Sneyd cited the cooperation FanDuel is getting from Fox. Gronkowski works for Fox Sports and will be involved in the Super Bowl broadcast, giving FanDuel a tight integration with the broadcast.

“This is a live spot. So we're going to be cutting away from pre-recorded film with Fox to Gronk on a field, and attention-building for whether or not he can kick the field. So it was not an option for us to be able to buy local spots,” he said.

The campaign is another example of how some brands in recent years have leaned on Big Game campaigns that include at least some level of fan participation in an attempt to separate themselves from the Super Bowl ad clutter. For instance, in 2021 Mtn Dew offered a $1 million prize to the first person who was able to count the number of Mtn Dew bottles appearing in its ad.

FanDuel risks disappointing fans if Gronkowski misses the field goal. “It is a moment that we all get to nail-bite with, so we really hope he hits it,” Sneyd said. But “anything can happen.”

FanDuel will hype the kick with a series of ads, including one showing Gronkowski training with legendary NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri. One ad released today (and shown above) shows Gronk having a conversation with an agent about the kick, which FanDuel has branded the “Kick of Destiny.”

Sneyd confirmed that ad plans include media buys on Twitter. While some brands have pulled spending on the platform since Elon Musk’s takeover, FanDuel has continued its buys. “We've been continuing to spend on Twitter, and we've been careful about making sure we monitor both brand safety and whether or not… we're seeing any differences in the types of results that we've [gotten].” he said.

FanDuel competitor DraftKings has also bought an ad in the game.