Christmas is on its way and companies are releasing their seasonal television advertisements. Not to be left out, Paddy Power have launched theirs with the big question, ‘Where were you in 22?’
The advert features former England striker Peter Crouch and it’s not just in time for Christmas but also the World Cup in Qatar. It features memorable moments from previous World Cup tournaments.
They include Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt that led to him being sent off in the 2006 World Cup Final. Another charming moment sees Nigel De Jong kicking Xabi Alonso in the chest. All very seasonal indeed.
Peter Crouch is no stranger to making a fool of himself. This advert sees him singing in a church choir. He then attempts to make his way into a pub called The Inn but they don’t let him in.
The Marketing and Brand Director for Paddy Power is Michelle Spillane. Talking about the advert she said: “For the first time in our lives, football fans and brands are faced with the prospect of Christmas colliding with a Winter World Cup.”
This “unchartered territory” gave Paddy Power the chance with “double the opportunity to surprise and delight football fans.” They’re doing this with a campaign that “celebrates the beauty in both, that captures the mood of the nation and gets fans excited about the prospect of this unforgettable opportunity to mark where they were in 2022 during this once-in-a-lifetime tournament.”
Meanwhile Gareth Southgate has been talking about his omission of Ivan Toney from the England World Cup squad. Days before the squad was named, newspapers broke the story that the Brentford striker was the subject of a gambling probe.
Southgate said that the news had nothing to do with his not taking Toney to Qatar. The Brentford player is alleged to have broken FA rules concerning betting on matches before he joined Brentford two years ago. He’d previously played for a number of clubs including Northampton Town, Newcastle United, Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic.
Toney has said that he won’t be making any comment on this until the FA have completed their investigation into the matter. He had previously been given the chance to play international football for Jamaica but rejected that to concentrate on trying to get into the England team.
Toney received his first call-up to the England squad earlier this year. He was chosen for the Nations League games against Italy and Germany but didn’t get to make his international debut.
Southgate said he had not spoken to Toney about the investigation as “he wasn’t in our squad.”
