Academy Award-winning actor, Jamie Foxx, has signed a partnership deal with BetMGM sportsbook. The sportsbook of MGM Entertainment Enterprise announced a new ad campaign that will feature the Oscar and Grammy-winning actor Jamie Foxx. The new ad campaign is called ‘The KING of SPORTSBOOKS,” with Foxx featured predominantly holding a cell phone with the BetMGM app.
According to BetMGM, Foxx will be starring in traditional TV commercials and a series of social media ads. The Chief Marketing Officer of BetMGM, Matt Prevost, released a statement regarding the new partnership.
Prevost said, “Jamie is an exceptional talent and we’re proud to have him partner with us on our new ad campaign for BetMGM. The King of Sportsbooks campaign is the next step in the evolution of the BetMGM brand. Jamie brings a unique ability to tell our story in an incredibly creative and entertaining way. BetMGM exists at the intersection of sports and entertainment and Jamie fits this position perfectly. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him into the BetMGM family.”
The First Major Ad Campaign with an A-List Celebrity
The ad campaign for BetMGM was cultivated by brand creative agency, 72ndandSunny of New York.
According to a source at the ad agency, “Foxx will be clearly illustrating how much fun and exciting it is to use the BetMGM sportsbook and be in the know of all things sports betting.” The Texas native, 52, won an Academy Award for best male performance in the 2004 film ‘Ray.’
This was a film about legendary singer Ray Charles. The singer personally requested that Foxx play him in the movie and said, “the film cannot be made unless Jamie plays me.” Charles, 73, passed away in June of 2004 of liver disease, four months before the film opened. Foxx also won a Screen Actors Guild award for his stellar performance. He did his own singing in the movie and learned how to play the piano for the role.
Foxx has recently been in Las Vegas to film some commercials for the new ad campaign. Prevost said the new ad campaign will start airing in the next few weeks in time for the holiday season.
BetMGM Success Despite the Sports Shut Down
Prevost said, “BetMGM has still been over-performing in spite of or maybe because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The CMO continued, “We have made the best of things during the pandemic, and although there were less things to bet on, we got creative, offering our customers and spheres fans alternatives, some of which we are keeping even now that sports have returned.”
One of the events that BetMGM and other sportsbooks offered were eSports on NASCAR events and horse racing, which was available throughout the shutdown. The first ad that will be rolled out is rumored to have cost more than $10 million to produce.
It was filmed at the Fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. A BetMGM source said, “it’s a very exciting creative piece of artistry, put together with state of the art technology. It brings sports and entertainment together with an image of Foxx levitating above the Fountains of the spectacular Bellagio.”
The hotel, casino, and resort is owned by the Blackstone Group and operated by the MGM Corporation. It sits on the former site of the famed Las Vegas Casino, the Dunes. The BetMGM sportsbook is available on all Android devices, desktops, and tablets. They currently are live in six states: Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, New Jersey, Nevada, and West Virginia. They will be adding five more states before the end of 2020.
