Where were you in ‘22 - Paddy Power | Clapboard Ad Archive

Paddy Power’s Where Were You in 22 campaign, created by Droga5 London and launched in the United Kingdom market in 2022, made a decisive entry into the hyper-competitive season for Christmas advertising by hijacking festive conventions and colliding them head-on with the cultural fever of a winter World Cup. As the boundary between football fanaticism and holiday ritual blurred in this once-in-a-generation overlap, the Irish betting firm seized on the moment with a TV spot and integrated creative suite that gleefully skewered sacrosanct Christmas motifs, delivering a mischievous pastiche unlike anything in the category. Narrated by the unmistakable David Threlfall, the narrative unfolds with flares and turkeys sharing the frame, knitwear-clad lads, rogue organists, and football-obsessed grandmothers enshrining Southgate and his squad, while Peter Crouch’s Nativity sendup at the door of The Inn epitomizes the campaign’s knack for playful subversion. This irreverence is carried through every touchpoint, from a World Cup edition of Charades and Christmas jumpers to a headline-grabbing OOH light installation depicting a French football legend, all the way through bespoke crockery illustrated by Vince Pastiche, coordinated press executions, and digital activations that ensured Paddy Power’s voice was heard across all relevant platforms during the festive window. The campaign not only leverages football’s hold on mass media and social conversation but also positions Paddy Power as the bookmaker most attuned to the cultural moment, transforming them into a tongue-in-cheek observer and orchestrator of communal rituals. In a market category defined by high-stakes competition and well-funded traditional rivals like Bet365, William Hill, and Ladbrokes, Paddy Power’s approach eschews staid seasonal sentimentality in favor of contemporary, self-aware satire—an approach that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format, characterized by its overt lampooning of pop culture genres and traditions. By inserting itself tongue-first into the Christmas TV ad wars, the brand demonstrates acute cultural fluency, inviting audiences to see Paddy Power not simply as a gambling provider but as a catalyst for shared humor and moment-making at the intersection of sport and ceremony. The campaign earns 71/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Paddy Power’s Where Were You in 22 matters because it demonstrates how a sports betting brand can break through crowded festive airspace when it dares to parody the very conventions that define the season.