Bizarre new Ad from Mobile Gambling giant LeoVegas

I’ve seen more than my fare share of online and mobile casino advertisements over the years. The majority of them are painfully similar. Vibrant color schemes with excitable ritzy folk, saying log on here, play for real money, claim this bonus, take some free spins, etc., etc. The operators running those campaigns may or may not be worthy of our time and deposits, but let’s face it – the ads are monotonous and boring.

Then there are a rare few that grab our attention, either making us laugh, drop our jaws in shock, or scratch our heads in disbelief as they utterly strange enough to earn an unforgettable slot in our memory banks. The latest marketing tactics from LeoVegas definitely fall into that latter category, and I have to ask… what were they thinking???

Well, it wasn’t actually LeoVegas – the self-promoted ‘King of Mobile Casino‘ – that came up with the new ad campaign. That responsibility lies on the shoulder of London-based marketing firm, Now, who LeoVegas commissioned to produce their latest ad video.

Seductive Slow Dancing with a… What?

As usual, the mobile gambling giant is releasing this ad campaign as a multi-part series; in this case, part 1 of 2. The idea is to grab the viewers attention and tell a story, while encouraging them of course to play for real money at the interactive casino.

Having seen part 1 of the ad, though, I’m a bit disturbed, and – as was surely their intent – highly curious as to where the plot is leading in part 2. (scroll down to watch Now’s LeoVegas Ad Part 1)

The ad depicts the famous ‘Leo’, the lion mascot of LeoVegas, in his usual upscale, suit-and-tie ensemble. He retrieves his drink from the bartender before turning to observe a dimly lit club, sparsely populated with average, moderately well-dress individuals. Then, a subdued spotlight, denoting the focal point of Leo’s vision, falls upon an unlikely character seated alone at a small table.

Is it a lovely lady? No. A seductive lioness, perhaps? No. It is, in fact, probably the last thing you’d ever guess; the headless and – for the most part – limbless carcass of a dead, skinned animal.

Now you’re probably thinking, “Oh, well that kind of makes sense. He is a lion, after all, and lions like to eat other animals.”

While that’s true, the ravenous look in Leo’s eyes was far from hunger. With a low growl, he moves to the carcass and extends his hand, taking one of the dead animal’s hacked-off limbs and joining it on the dace floor for what could only be describes as a sensuous, borderline-erotic slow dance.

After 25 seconds of provocative and thoroughly disturbing dancing, Leo is shown seated back at his own table – alone this time – with his smartphone in one hand (presumably playing at the mobile casino), and a fork in the other. Atop the for is a cube of what appears to be raw meat. Go figure…

Now and LeoVegas Love It

Clearly, the opinion of the viewers – LeoVegas’ potential customers – is what matters most here, but as far as the ad’s creators and the mobile gambling company that paid for it are concerned, the campaign is simply exquisite. Both were particularly pleased with the fact that it’s “different” and will help them “stand out” from their competitors.

We can’t argue with that, now can we?

“In a category that plays by some heavily entrenched rules, we worked with Leo Vegas to create something fresh and, importantly, something that felt different to the competition,” said Remco Graham, Executive Director for Now, in a statement to Adweek.

“Leo Vegas trusted us to push the boundaries, and we’re really pleased with the results,” he said.

Shenaly Amin, LeoVegas’ UK Regional Manager, seemed equally impressed with the – for lack of a better term – unique – ad campaign. “In a market with such fierce competition, we knew we had to do something different to stand out.”

The way she explained it, “Leo Vegas is the King of Mobile Casino, but he’s just as happy playing down his local social club as he is walking down the strip in Vegas.”