PokerStars has inked Canadian actor/comedian Gerry Dee to act as pitchman for the company’s free-play site, PokerStars.net. The star of Canadian sitcom Mr. D and host of the Gerry Dee: Sports Reporter segments on Canadian sports network The Score will appear in television commercials this fall promoting free online tournaments in which players can win trips to the Bahamas to take part in the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). One prize package per month – consisting of flights for two, six nights at the Atlantis Resort, some walking around money and a seat at the PCA – will be up for grabs from September to November. Dee will be on hand in the Bahamas to take part in the PCA and film his ‘adventures’. Team PokerStars pro (and fellow Canadian) Daniel Negreanu recently filmed a guest spot on Mr. D, which is set to air in January. As part of Dee’s deal, PokerStars will also act as title sponsor of the Gerry Dee Comedy Tour. Check out Dee’s former work for The Score below, in which Dee attempts to hustle former NBA great Charles “I’m not your role model” Barkley, who opines that you only have a gambling problem when you can no longer afford to place a wager…
Not to be outdone, BetVictor’s new advertising account minders VCCP have enlisted their own comedian/gag interviewer, Paul Kaye, to interact with chairman Victor Chandler in a pair of new television spots. Based on the theme of “Nothing should get in your way,” Kaye plays an overeager punter named Maurice, whom Victor has to keep calming down by telling him to keep it simple and avoid distractions by proceeding directly to the BetVictor site. You can view them here, but frankly, they’re a bit meh…
We were a bit more impressed by Ladbrokes’ new campaign, created by agency SapientNitro. The spot starts off as a by-the-numbers shampoo ad featuring towel-clad Sky football commentator Chris Kamara singing the praises of a good follicle scrub while the requisite hot model hangs on his every word. That is, until she gets belted in the melon by a football kicked by the ever-caffeinated Italian commentator Tiziano Crudeli, who proceeds to deliver the proper Ladbrokes’ sell line with his usual gusto…
