Top 5 Attention-Grabbing Bingo Promotions

These five attention-grabbing bingo promotions are – as far as we can tell – among the most over-the-top, outlandish efforts made by real-world and online bingo operators in recent years in the attempt to drum up business.

We’re not saying there aren’t any others that we’ve missed – so if you have a favourite bingo promotion from the past five years, let us know in the comments – but these are the ones that showed up on our radar while researching this article, and the order we think they deserve to be placed in.

5. Jackpotjoy’s Rubber Duck

The infamous Jackpotjoy Rubber Duck stunt took place in December 2012, and consisted of a 50-foot-high, 60-foot-wide, half-ton rubber duck that sailed along the River Thames and past Tower Bridge, which had to open so that it could fit through.

It was a sunny Tuesday morning just before Christmas when the duck made its appearance on the Thames skyline, as part of Jackpotjoy‘s efforts to double how often the average British person laughs.

According to the online bingo brand, the typical Brit laughs 7.2 times a day, whereas the recommended chortle count for good mental health is 15 times per 24 hours.

Barbara Windsor, who has a long-term affiliation with Jackpotjoy, said it was the ideal end to 2012, a year that had also seen the Diamond Jubilee Pageant Flotilla take to the Thames, not to mention David Beckham’s speedboat delivery of the Olympic Torch for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“We decided to round off the year with the giant duck, and it certainly cheered everyone up,” Babs said. “No-one could suppress a smile as they saw it sailing past!”

The stunt was well received on social networks, where the day began with many people simply wondering who was behind the duck’s appearance on the Thames.

IOSH, the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, joked on Twitter: “We’re wondering how long before someone says ‘surely there’s a health and safety law against this?'”

Nick Silversides added: “Ghostbusters 3 begins filming in London. There’s a new Marshmallow Man!” in reference to the duck’s sheer scale.

And Which Bingo were taken as much by surprise as everybody else, tweeting: “Loving the #jackpotjoyduck floating down the Thames today. Wish they had given us a heads up!”

We love this stunt, for several reasons: firstly, it was very, very silly. Secondly, it was well received by almost everyone who witnessed it, without causing any offence to anyone. And thirdly, because it turned the classic call of ‘one little duck!’ on its head in a very memorable way.

4. PaddyPower’s Eggycam

OK, this one wasn’t strictly a bingo promotion as such, but the idea behind PaddyPower’s 2008 Eggycam stunt was quite similar to the ever-popular game of chance.

The stunt saw ten eggs placed in an incubator, with bets welcomed from punters on which would hatch first – similar to bingo’s sibling game Keno, in which you bet on which numbers you think will be randomly drawn in the next round.

PaddyPower ran several sportsbook-style betting markets on which eggs would hatch and in which order, all proceeds from which went to charity, making this a promotional campaign with positive outcomes too.

Ultimately, four of the eggs hatched – numbers 9, 1, 2 and 6, in that order.

But PaddyPower’s Eggycam-addict audience had the last laugh when egg 6 hatched in the early hours of the morning, while nobody from the bookmaker was monitoring the live webcam feed.

In a flurry of betting activity, charity-conscious viewers continued to wager on egg 6 even after it had hatched – and by the time PaddyPower realised what was happening, a four-figure charity payment was already due to come from them.

The company admitted: “We were left shell-shocked after dozens of shrewd punters caught us napping in the early hours of the morning, in a carefully organised betting coup on already-hatched egg number 6 that cost us over €5,000!”

PaddyPower are famous for some of their more controversial adverts that have been seen on – and frequently banned from – the television.

But this was an inoffensive promotion that helped out Down Syndrome Ireland, and combined the best of PaddyPower’s online activities into a bingo-style game with sportsbook-style betting.

For managing to achieve that without it appearing too contrived, Eggycam is well deserving of its place on this list, even several years on.

3. Foxy Bingo sponsor Peter Wright’s head

Darts player Peter Wright was the subject of an eye-catching Foxy Bingo sponsorship deal at Christmas in 2012, which Frank PR founder and group managing director Andrew Bloch tweeted with the ingenious darts-themed hashtag #bullsdye.

It might be tempting to say that Wright had his hair sponsored – and to be fair, he dyed his mohican bright orange to match the colours of the Foxy Bingo mascot.

But the most attention-grabbing aspect of the deal was the sponsorship of his head, which involved having an image of the Foxy Bingo logo dyed on to the shaven side of his mohawk.

However, it seems much of the campaign never made it to air, with other online reports claiming the event organisers would not allow such blatant advertising.

Speaking to The Sun, Wright said: “All my clothes are covered in sponsorship, so why not my hair?”

But fan forums confirmed that the Foxy Bingo logo was gone by the time Wright took to the oche – although his hair was still a vivid ginger shade.

The stunt may not have helped him to keep his concentration either, as after going two sets up against van Gerwen, Wright eventually lost 4-2, with his opponent taking 12 out of 14 legs to secure victory.

Foxy Bingo are probably one of the best brands when it comes to this kind of sponsorship deal, as their frequent and high-profile television tie-ins also help to demonstrate.

However, we can’t help wondering if this attempt was a step too far, as they must have known their logo would be placed right where a close-up camera shot of Wright’s head would be shown during filming.

If they’d managed to get away with it, it would have given them plenty of airtime; but it was never likely to be approved by the event’s organisers, who had their own sponsors to keep happy in the form of fellow online bingo operator and sports betting brand Ladbrokes.

Overall then, it’s well done for trying, Foxy Bingo, but you’ll have to try harder in future if your campaigns are going to make it on to national and international television, and really help to keep your brand in the spotlight.

2. William Hill’s Bingo Bird

You could be forgiven for finding William Hill Bingo‘s ‘Bird is the Word’ adverts really annoying, but in the space of just six months they’ve catapulted the brand – which is one of the few online bingo brands that doesn’t directly seem to target only female players – from quite a serious approach to its advertising, to mascot-based ads more in line with Foxy Bingo’s TV campaigns.

Unlike Foxy Bingo’s fox, which remains very much in character at all times, the William Hill mascot, which has since come to be known simply as the Bingo Bird, is clearly a bespectacled man in costume.

The choice of a bird may seem a little odd – he’s definitely not one little duck (quack!) – but it’s no stranger than a fox or, as we’ll see below, a gigantic gorilla; and, to their credit, William Hill have worked hard to tie the Bingo Bird in to their regular activities.

For instance, you’ll frequently see them running with the slogan ‘Everyone loves a little flutter’, which nicely connects the mascot with the idea of playing bingo for fun.

But this is not just a TV advert character, or a graphic for use on the social networks; the Bingo Bird also makes personal appearances, and has appeared at the William Hill Foundation Cup charity football tournament, and even at the Trafalgar Square switch-on of the Christmas lights in 2012.

In terms of the television campaign, the soundtrack – The Trashmen’s ‘Surfin’ Bird’ – was brought back to widespread popularity just a few years ago when it featured in an episode of the US animated comedy Family Guy, and dominated advertising campaigns for that series.

This gives William Hill Bingo a great base on which to build their own campaign, drawing on the popularity of the song to help strengthen the character of their Bingo Bird.

We can’t help but like this one, for all of the reasons already mentioned above:

• it’s not aimed solely at female players
• it’s much less serious than some previous William Hill Bingo campaigns
• we love the human element of being able to see who’s in the costume
• it works across TV, social networks and in-person appearances
• it builds on the existing popularity of the song Surfin’ Bird

However, it’s pipped to our number-one spot not by any of the big online bingo brands, but by the efforts of a Margate amusement arcade, their ‘monkey’ named Marvin, and their social-media-driven attempt to convince the local authority to overturn a decision banning them from displaying their adopted mascot over the main doors to their arcade and neighbouring bingo club.

1. Marvin the Margate Monkey

Margate’s very own 15-foot King Kong, an inflatable figure that later became dubbed ‘Marvin the Margate Monkey’, was an eye-catching addition to the seafront intended to help attract customers to Funshine Amusements on Marine Terrace and its neighbour Crown Bingo, both owned by Praesepe.

But managing director Nick Harding was left nonplussed when the local council demanded that he remove the great ape, which was deemed unsuitable for the protected Margate Seafront Conservation Area despite the fact that it was deflated and packed away each night anyway.

He told the Isle of Thanet Gazette: “We have brought a large part of the area back to life, and believe what we are doing will complement the leisure offering at [nearby amusement park] Dreamland.”

With fellow seafront traders and council officials sharing concerns about the impact of the inflatable on the general appearance of Marine Terrace, however, it seems Marvin – at least in his original form – is gone for good.

In the best tradition of 21st century marketing, though, Praesepe have refused to let their character go to an early grave, and have instead launched a viral campaign based on their fight to gain council permission to reinstate him.

Marvin now has his own Facebook group, through which activities are coordinated; signatures have been collected to put towards a petition asking for permission to display him once again; and local sports sponsorship deals are helping to make Marvin’s name known beyond the direct customer base of the arcade and bingo hall.

Good Friday 2013 saw the venue host a danceathon with on-message classics like Hey Hey, We’re The Monkees and I Wanna Be Like You, from The Jungle Book, blasted out across the promenade while gorilla-suited dancers performed choreographed routines and urged passers-by to join them.

A YouTube channel shows the resulting performances and, while its videos are so far on less than 50 views each, this is a campaign that is still in its infancy, and may yet gather pace.

The efforts to have Marvin the Margate Monkey reinstated are, at the very least, a good example of how modern-day marketing techniques are helping land-based seaside bingo businesses to remain relevant despite the demise of the classic British seaside resort, and make Funshine and Crown Bingo worthy winners of our list.