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Darts stars team up for Fireball’s Christmas campaign
Darts heavyweights, including Michael Van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Stephen Bunting, as well as a David Brent impersonator, have come together to star in Fireball Whisky’s new Christmas ad.
The advert, called ‘Sick Note Service’, plays on the idea that workers are more likely to bunk off during the Christmas period, especially if they have tickets to attend the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship taking place at London’s Alexandra Palace from 15 December to 3 January and have used up all of their annual leave.
Taking the form of a mockumentary in the style of The Office, the advert features David Brent impersonator Tim Oliver and a host of darts players manning the phones.
The premise is that darts fans who wish to miss a day of work can ring into the call centre and in exchange players, such as Bunting (currently ranked eighth in the PDC Order of Merit) and Dimitri ‘The Dreammaker’ Van den Bergh, will call their place of employment with an excuse.
Beyond just being an advert, Fireball has also launched a web page where darts fans can download a video of the players providing an excuse for not attending work – there is also a more personalised service featuring videos referring to the 100 most common names on the PDC mailing list.
Fireball, which is best known for its cinnamon-flavoured whisky liqueur, has also shared that at the start of the tournament, from 15 to 17 December, it will have an on-site experience where fans can get their own bespoke “sick note” video from darts referee Russ ‘The Voice’ Bray, who stepped down from full-time refereeing after the last PDC tournament after 28 years in the role.
“Much like Fireball, darts is a sport with a fanbase dedicated to fun and comradery, with a splash of mischief woven in,” commented Fireball spokesman Lorenzo Farronato. “Both Fireball and our partners at the PDC have those fans at the forefront of everything we do – we are always looking to introduce programs that spice up their experiences while delivering something a bit unexpected at every turn.”
The campaign does have some similarities to a stunt Pernod Ricard-owned Irish whiskey brand Jameson did last year where it promised to pay US$10,000 to those who took St. Patrick’s Day off.
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