One of my great disappointments in life was when my mother finally caved and bought me Honeycomb cereal.
I couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8, and every Saturday morning, as long as I could remember, Honeycomb ran a commercial. And in the commercial, the individual Honeycombs looked to be the size of wagon wheels. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this cereal. One Honeycomb might fit in the bowl, I figured. Might have to break it in two.
Well, suffice it to say Honeycomb was not big, big, big. It was normal-sized. It also got soggy. The whole thing was a disaster, and it was my inaugural lesson in truth in advertising.
This was on my mind as I got press release after press release last week about bet365’s new advertising campaign. At first I was put off by it. Then I thought about it and liked it. A lot. Then I was put off again. And then again.
A story in a few parts. Grab some Honeycomb. It’s better dry.
Everything everywhere
The campaign is relatively straightforward. It’s called “Winning is Everything,” it was created by VML, and it’s going to be everywhere in the coming weeks.
And yeah, I was put off by it. The whole “winning is everything” idea struck me as way too gambling-forward. Like, by a mile. What about DraftKings’ “It’s more fun when it’s fun?” That kind of slogan made sports betting sound like a harmless hobby, not a money chase.
Then I thought about it for a beat and you know what? “Winning is Everything” is the most truth-in-advertising slogan a sportsbook has rolled out since PASPA fell.
You know why? Because losing sucks. And losing money sucks even more. So yeah, when it comes to sports betting, winning kind of is everything.
“‘Winning is Everything’ is more than a line — it’s the inner voice of the serious sports fan finally getting spoken out loud,” Glen Scott, chief creative officer at VML Seattle, said in a release. “We wanted the work to feel like it was made for people who track the lines and take pride in seeing something others miss.”
I’m that guy. I track lines. I take pride in seeing something others miss. Right on. Honeycomb’s big. Yeah yeah yeah.
Then I remembered: I’ve been limited to pennies at bet365.
Winning isn’t quite everything
“Following a review of your account by our Trading team, we regret to inform you that whilst our online service remains available to you, wagering restrictions will be applied on any future bets placed and the Cash Out feature is no longer available to you,” read the email sent to me.
First of all, “whilst?” We won the war.
Secondly, and clearly, winning isn’t everything over there at bet365. My account shows a loss of $1,191.71. So why was I cut off?
Because, I’m guessing, I was arb’ing. Three years ago or so, bet365 was not only hanging odds way off consensus, but doing it often. So I arb’d. Often. You know, because “winning is everything.”
And despite losing that much at bet365, the trading team eventually figured out what I was doing and cut me off at the knees.
Winning is everything at bet365, right up until you try to win in a way they don’t like.
Now, bet365 is hardly the only sportsbook in the limiting business. But I’ve arb’d pretty obviously elsewhere — think second sets of fourth-rate tennis matches with wagers like $34.52 — and I haven’t gotten the same treatment. bet365 has its reputation for a reason.
Still, fine. Sportsbooks limit people. I live in the real world.
And that, honestly, is part of what makes the slogan … well, let’s be charitable and call it “interesting.” Sportsbook marketing loves to borrow the swagger of sharps. It wants the vibe of intelligence, edge, and killer instinct. What it does not particularly want is the actual presence of intelligent bettors with an edge and a killer instinct. The books want your action. They just don’t necessarily want your competence.
That’s why I can roll my eyes at the slogan, then grudgingly admire it, then roll my eyes again. As sports-betting advertising goes, it’s refreshingly honest — right up until real-world sportsbook behavior barges in and ruins the party.
But casino?!
What might be unforgivable is dragging this slogan into online casino.
They haven’t released casino commercials yet, but this nugget in the press release jumped off the page, bold and italics mine: “Passionate fans appreciate that ‘Winning is Everything’; possessing a deep understanding of the game, an edge or playing a hand while trusting their instincts. This campaign is engineered for that exact mindset.”
Um, no. Absolutely not.
My instincts sometimes tell me there’s a three waiting if I hit on 18, but that has not historically been a prudent move. My instincts are constantly — like, constantly — telling me I’m “due.” I am not due. Ever.
In sports betting, at least in theory, there is such a thing as insight. There is such a thing as price sensitivity. There is such a thing as finding a bad number and beating it. All that is real.
But when you’re playing casino games, “trusting your instincts” is not a strategy. At best, you play proper basic strategy where it exists and hope for the best. Otherwise, you go in knowing the math is against you. Long term, the house wins. That’s the whole business model.
So here’s where I land: As a sportsbook slogan, “Winning is Everything” is refreshingly honest. Almost admirable, even. But if bet365 wants to celebrate sharp bettors in its ads, maybe don’t swat them away the second they act like sharp bettors.
And for the love of pai gow, keep this “trust-your-instincts” nonsense far away from the online casino.
