AdMiration feature: Paddy Power’s “Nobody Does Football Better Than Us!”

For this week's AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Paddy Power's "Nobody Does Football Better Than Us" ad, released ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup in the UK.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens in a packed American stadium, where Rob Lowe — dressed in a black cowboy outfit — presents America's version of football as one big entertainment spectacle. 

Danny Dyer enters in contrast, set against a more recognizably English pub backdrop, making the case for proper football culture: the fans, the pints, the chants, the passion and the chaos.

From there the ad plays out as a comic culture clash. Rob argues for American-style entertainment — fireworks, cheerleaders and kiss cams. Meanwhile, Danny counters with English football culture — loud fans, pub energy, chants and pies. Peter Crouch appears as part of Danny's answer to "what have you got?", and a pub scene shows Danny demonstrating football culture through singing and chanting rather than stadium theatrics.

By the end, Rob Lowe is won over to Danny's world. The final message lands on Paddy Power's punchline: "NOBODY DOES FOOTBALL BETTER THAN US.”

3 facts

• This is a strong brand-building ad from Paddy Power, landing in the top 30% of UK ads for long-term brand equity and the average range for short-term sales (Brand Impact: 72; Sales Impact: 65). But it has a clear audience: among people aged 45+, Sales Impact climbs to the top 10% of UK ads and Brand Impact to the top 15% (Sales Impact: 90; Brand Impact: 84).

• The ad resonates emotionally, leaving people with love (34% vs. 28% norm) and a huge amount of laughter (22% vs. 5% norm) — more than four times the norm and the clearest sign of just how much the comedy landed!

• It gets noticed and stands out in its category (Ad Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm), with Danny Dyer being the single strongest brand cue, named more often than the logo or the Paddy Power name itself.

2 learnings

• Comedy lands best when it's built on a cultural truth. Paddy Power's creative formula is based on finding something fans know to be true but don’t think about regularly and then having fun with it so fans are amused by how the idea is dramatized. The brand has said as much about its past work, pointing to a Christmas spot on inherited football devotion that resonated simply "because it's true." This ad does the same thing: every laughter spike lands where the British way of watching football answers the American way — the too-hot pie, the topless pub garden, the Peter Crouch chant, skipping the half-time show for a pint. The result is not only an incredibly funny ad but also humor that attaches to the brand itself, with Paddy Power associated with being entertaining (59%) and having a great sense of humor (57%).

• The boldest ads are willing to make someone the butt of the joke. It's tempting around a moment as high stakes as the World Cup to play it safe — to make an ad so inoffensive it can't put anyone off. But Paddy Power did something different — they picked a fight, casting American sports culture as the punchline and planting its flag firmly on the other side. That willingness to be divisive is exactly what makes the ad so shareable and distinctive (Viral Potential: 67 vs. 53 norm; Ad Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm) — it's the approach the brand's own marketing director described as one that "only Paddy would dare to make." An ad that tries to please everyone rarely sticks with anyone, while a brand confident enough to take a side (while still sticking close to what’s true in the overall idea) gives people something to rally around.

1 reflection

Is your celebrity a natural fit for your brand or just a famous face?

Danny Dyer is the strongest brand cue in this entire ad. When people tried to recall whose ad it was, his name was the most common thing they pointed to — more than any other element of the ad. That's rare — celebrities sometimes pull too much attention to themselves and away from the brand. 

Here he's doing the opposite, and it's no accident. Dyer is a lifelong West Ham fan from working-class East London. His breakout role was the football-terrace film “The Football Factory,” and he’s built a career embodying the deadpan English everyman. So when the ad argues that nobody does football like the English, Dyer gives that claim instant credibility. That authenticity is exactly why viewers single him out as the right choice, calling him a "down to earth bloke" and "a brilliant choice." 

And Paddy Power has stuck with him across campaigns since 2024 — the Euros "Europe's Favourites" spot, a Christmas film about football devotion, an ITV game-show sponsorship, last year's "Come Out and Play" casino spot and now this. With each one, he's becoming more and more linked to the brand, fitting the mischievous tone Paddy Power is going for.

So ask yourself: Are you hiring your talent for their fame, or because they actually embody what your brand stands for?

Paddy Power's "Nobody Does Football Better Than Us" ad is the brand’s flagship campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a large-scale, multi-channel push timed to the tournament kicking off in the US.

Their hero spot, created by BBH London and directed by Max Barden through Anonymous Content, pits actor Rob Lowe as the face of America against Danny Dyer, a British national icon, with cameos from Peter Crouch and Mick McCarthy.

The strategic premise is a culture clash. With the US hosting the vast majority of the 104 games, Paddy Power set the tournament up as a contest between two ways of doing sport — the brand siding firmly with English soccer fandom over the glossier American version, and making the case that passion beats spectacle every time.

Leah Spears, Marketing Director at Paddy Power, shared: "This World Cup is a huge cultural moment and we wanted to create a campaign that only Paddy would dare to make. Something provocative, entertaining and rooted in football culture. BBH found a brilliant creative tension to play with, and underneath the mischief, there's a fame-driving, relevant idea that will connect with fans and turn attention into long term growth for our brand."

Aside from the film, the campaign runs across TV, digital, social and a provocative out-of-home installation going live on 11 June. Notably, the ad doesn't mention gambling at all — it's a pure brand and culture play, designed to win attention and affection rather than drive an immediate bet. 

Getting people to actually place a bet is handled separately — through free Bet Builders on England games and a new-customer sign-up offer.

This is a strong brand-building ad from Paddy Power, landing in the top 30% of UK ads for long-term brand equity and the average range for short-term sales (Brand Impact: 72; Sales Impact: 65).

But this is an ad with a clear audience: among people aged 45+ Sales Impact climbs to the top 10% of UK ads, and Brand Impact reaches the top 15% (Brand Impact: 84; Sales Impact: 90)!

The ad gets noticed and stands out from other ads in its category (Ad Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm; Claimed Attention: 4.1 vs. 3.8 norm). 

A lot of that comes down to the central idea — the England-versus-America culture clash gives the ad a distinctive premise that feels unmistakably Paddy Power, and the comedic set pieces that play it out (the rodeo-announcer opening, the kiss-cam wedding, Peter Crouch) give viewers specific, memorable moments to hold onto.

And when we look at what's actually cuing the brand, Danny Dyer is the single strongest asset — his name was the most common thing they pointed to — more than any other element of the ad. The celebrity is crucial to the narrative but he’s also doing a lot of the brand-linkage work.

But what the ad really excels at is evoking emotion. Overall Emotion lands well above the norm (64 vs. 49 norm), with love and laughter dominating (Love 34% vs. 28% norm; Laughter 22% vs. 5% norm). 

That laughter score is more than four times the norm and it’s the clearest signal as to just how much the comedy landed!

And the second-by-second trace shows exactly where the emotion comes from. Every laughter spike is a British punchline answering an American convention — Danny Dyer biting into a too-hot mystery pie, the "T-shirts? no chance, we go all natural" cut to topless fans in the pub garden, the Peter Crouch chant, Dyer skipping the half-time theatrics for a pint, and the Irish fan insisting "We're just here for the craic."

The joke lands every time the American way of doing things gets met with a deadpan British alternative — and that's exactly where viewers laughed hardest.

That came through loud and clear in the verbatims as well:

• "I like that the ad is funny and pokes fun at how flashy and over the top American shows can be. It feels good to see my culture's passion and real pub energy celebrated as the better, more authentic way to enjoy football."

• "LOVED the humour - this is just what football is like for most of us English people. Danny Dyer is a brilliant choice, with his deadpan humour. Loved some of our famous faces too. Well done Paddy Power for showing you don't need fancy stunts to have fun."

• "Where to start, it was just a long, very amusing takedown of US sports razzmatazz. I particularly liked the usual Peter Crouch song and the broken tooth from the football pie."

Meanwhile, love builds steadily across the spot and peaks right at the very end as the tagline lands — "NOBODY DOES FOOTBALL BETTER THAN US." — tying the warmest moment directly to Paddy Power's message. 

With Danny Dyer at the center of every big moment in the ad, it's no surprise that Celebrity Appeal is one of the standout resonance metrics (4.1 vs. 3.7 norm).

Danny Dyer is a UK face, not a global icon, so he's the ideal voice for this idea with a UK audience who praise him precisely because he embodies English football culture. As one respondent put it: "It was a fun and playful advert. The main actor is well known and well liked in Britain, and I always enjoy watching and listening to him. He's a down to earth bloke, so a good choice for this advert.”

And that humor transfers to the brand itself. When we look at what people associate with Paddy Power after watching, the top attributes are “entertaining” (59%), “related to sports” (57%) and “having a great sense of humor” (57%). 

The qualities that make the ad funny are exactly the qualities people now attach to the brand.

This is a provocative and funny spot from Paddy Power! It proves that a sharp idea and the right face to deliver it can cut through any amount of World Cup noise.

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