Scott Van Pelt and Elle Duncan Embrace the Betting Experience for ESPN BET Spots

ESPN BET, the newly-launched official sportsbook of ESPN, has introduced its launch advertising campaign and brand platform, ‘What a Play.’

The brand platform is featured in two commercial spots featuring SportsCenter anchors Scott Van Pelt and Elle Duncan. The spots, 'As Long as We All Had Fun' featuring Van Pelt, and 'You Had to Be There' featuring Duncan, are running across national and local media. PENN Entertainment and ESPN – in collaboration with creative agency Arts & Letters – developed the campaign and creative vision for the ESPN BET brand.

The new brand platform ‘What a Play.’ will extend across ESPN BET’s multichannel marketing. The versatile platform highlights the authentic relationship that exists between sports fandom and gaming, both in how sports betting serves to support fandom, and how ESPN helps bring that relationship to life. The launch spots integrate ESPN talent into the lives of the fan, helping connect them in humorous but relatable fashion to the sports fan’s betting experience.  

“Sports betting is, at its core, an extension of fandom. This ESPN BET launch campaign aims to bring that connection point to life in entertaining ways, while drawing upon the deep love and connection fans have to ESPN. The spots, which utilise some of ESPN’s most prominent talent, embody the excitement and moments in sports that betting serves to amplify," said Aubrey Levy, SVP of marketing, Penn Interactive.

What a Play.’ is synonymous with sports, sports betting, even ESPN highlights (such as SportsCenter Top Plays),” said Seth Ader, vice president of brand marketing, ESPN. “We believe it is a simple, relatable message that will soon be synonymous with ESPN BET, our branded sportsbook app.”

The first two films are titled 'As Long as We All Had Fun' and 'You Had to Be There'. The former finds Scott Van Pelt joining two fans to take out the trash while breaking down a wager that was won and lost on a last second play. In 'You Had to Be There', Elle Duncan discovers a fan having fun at her husband’s Homecoming Weekend by placing a contrarian wager against the home team.