Remember
DraftKings’ “Real People, Real Winnings” ad that was in heavy rotation all year?
If you’re a sports fan, it was impossible to miss. DraftKings spent more placing that single ad than any other company spent on a national TV ad in the sports industry this year. According to estimates from the ad tracking company iSpot.tv, DraftKings bought $32,578,055 in ad time this year for the spot, which opens with a voice-over saying, “This is what it looks like when real people win $1 million playing fantasy football.”
After pushing its “Real People, Real Winnings” message all year, Draft-Kings suddenly pulled the ad. It has not been seen in four weeks, last airing after Week 3 of the NFL season. According to iSpot.tv, its last recorded airing was at 1:01 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 28.
That was the Monday after the weekend when a DraftKings employee created a scandal by winning $350,000 at rival daily fantasy provider
FanDuel — a development suggesting that rather than real people competing against each other, real people were competing against insiders.
At deadline, DraftKings had not responded to an email seeking comment on why it pulled the ad at that time.
DraftKings replaced the “Real People” ad with another ad called “The Sleeper.” Since Sept. 28, DraftKings has spent $8,606,866 on “The Sleeper” ad across 1,940 national airings, iSpot.tv said. Since that time, “The Sleeper” was the DraftKings ad that had the heaviest rotation.
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DraftKings pulled its once ubiquitous “Real People, Real Winnings” spot.
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That’s the ad that opens with a voice-over saying, “The sleeper pick. The guy only you believe in. … So trust your gut, trust your numbers, trust your Uncle Vito if you want. But know this. That sleeper is out there. The question is: Who’s going to play him?”
The money that the two main daily fantasy providers already have spent on advertising is staggering and is the main
reason TV sports have not reported the same ad sales softness seen in other parts of the TV business.
Several ad sales executives are questioning how the networks will be able to replace the daily fantasy revenue should they cut their ad budgets in the face of the growing scandal.
DraftKings already has cut back on its national TV ad budget slightly since the scandal broke at the end of September, though it’s not known if its ad slowdown was related to the scandal or if the daily fantasy provider planned to pull back once the NFL season was in full swing. DraftKings spent $108 million on national ads since Aug. 1, peaking in late August and early September. By comparison, rival FanDuel spent $87,451,545 on national ads since Aug. 1.
Since Oct. 1, however, FanDuel has outspent DraftKings by more than 2-to-1, iSpot.tv says. FanDuel has spent $34.2 million on 5,986 national airings since Oct. 1, which equates to more than a third of its annual budget. During the same time period, DraftKings spent $16,578,010 on 4,272 national ads.
DraftKings still is the bigger spender year-to-date, spending $139,370,906 on 43,470 national ads, compared to FanDuel’s $95,722,320 on 25,302 national ads, iSpot.tv says.
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
