Paddy Power has created an ad starring Rhodri Giggs, non-league football manager and brother of former Manchester United player Ryan, that sends up the infamous affair between Ryan and Rhodri' ex-wife, Natasha.
The spot, "Loyalty is dead", promotes reward scheme Paddy’s Rewards Club and features Rhodri musing on the nature of loyalty, eventually concluding: "Loyalty gets you nowhere. Live for rewards instead. That's why I'm Paddy Rewards Club ambassador."
It was created by Chime. The creatives are Christine Turner, Kevin Master, Chris Willis and Paul Kocur, and it was directed by Peter Cattaneo through Academy. The media agency is MediaCom. The ad will be shown on TV this weekend during programming including the Manchester City versus Chelsea Premier League match and Italy versus Wales in the Six Nations on ITV.
The eight-year affair between Ryan and Natasha was exposed in 2011, leading to the end of her marriage to Rhodri. It has continued to cause strife among family members; when Ryan was unveiled as the new manager of the Wales football team in January last year, his father, Danny Wilson, said he was still ashamed of his son.
However, the spot implies Rhodri has adopted a more philosophical view. In one scene, he is seen in a pub. "Bitter, Rhodri?" the barmaid asks. "Not any more, Pam – Champagne, please," he replies.
Commenting on what his brother would make of the ad, Rhodri said: "I’m sure, after the initial defensiveness, he’ll have a laugh about it. It’s funny. The whole thing is just me poking fun at the situation, because I’m over it. I’m not in the dark place I was years ago. I’ve moved on, he’s moved on, my ex-wife has moved on."
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