William Hill Backs Tim Lovejoy and Momentum to Bring World Cup Betting Home

WILLIAM HILL, the UK’s leading bookmaker, has signed up TV celebrity and sports pundit Tim Lovejoy as the face of its World Cup campaign.

The deal to bring Tim Lovejoy to William Hill marks the first time that the brand has been endorsed by a major sporting celebrity, and was negotiated by the company’s newly appointed sports retail agency, Momentum. Following its appointment, the integrated agency will be creating and managing retail communication and promotional activity for the betting giant during the World Cup.

Lovejoy, the star of TV shows including Sky1’s Soccer AM and the BBC’s Something for the Weekend, will feature across William Hill’s entire range of World Cup communications, including retail communication, online and national press.

Lovejoy will also host a series of World Cup preview programmes before and during the tournament. Each programme will be broadcast across William Hill’s 2,300 shops, their website, and on big screens in 900 Punch Taverns during weekend World Cup games. Each programme will bring viewers closer to the action as Lovejoy reacts to news and results as they happen, from various locations in the UK and South Africa.

Lovejoy will also launch a Fantasy Football competition devised especially for the World Cup and has worked with William Hill to produce a free mini World Cup guide in association with FourFourTwo magazine to help educate customers about the tournament and how to enjoy it even more with intelligent, responsible betting.

Alex O’Shaughnessy, Head of Product & Marketing Communications at William Hill, said of the campaign’s launch: “The World Cup truly brings the nation together, no matter if they’re fanatical about football or just a casual spectator. Bringing Tim on board will create a great opportunity for the brand to engage with football fans across all levels of football betting knowledge. We believe Tim’s credibility within the game together with his characteristic cheeky banter will be a big hit with our customer base and we’re delighted that Tim will be spearheading this campaign.”

Aidan Flynn, Group Account Director at Momentum commented “There’s no better time to start working with William Hill than the World Cup. The opportunity to involve someone as passionate and informed about football as Tim Lovejoy will be a major point of difference when the tournament kicks off on 11th June. Football betting customers are not only looking for best value odds they want to be entertained – the World Cup will be the sporting highlight of the year for many of our customers so we intend to make it as exciting an experience as possible.”