So, what’s the first thing you think of when someone says the word Bingo? Wait, don’t tell me – fame and glamour right? It’s a no brainer really.
Over the years, as online Bingo has become increasingly popular, so has the creation of televised adverts. Catchy phrases and lyrically questionable jingles have been filling our screens for years now, urging us to log on and pick our numbers. In these adverts, we often see familiar faces, or better yet, faces that we will soon find etched into our subconscious.
No likey, no light, but also no Bingo! Our first honourable mention is the family favourite that is Paddy McGuinness. McGuiness made his television debut in 1995 but did not gain any kind of notoriety until the early 2000’s when he hosted Inside Wayne Rooney, a programme in which he completed various tasks in competition with the football star in question to compare their abilities. He was also a much-loved addition on the Peter Kay classic Phoenix Nights in which he played the latter part of iconic duo Max and Paddy – two hapless club bouncers with roughly one brain cell between them. Following on from this he has had a rather lucrative career, going on to find himself as the star and host of the ever-entertaining Take Me Out, where arguably he gained the majority of his fame, attempting to create couples out of a light on and light off format, ending in a fabulous trip to the Isle of Fernandez!
Due to his previous appearances, Paddy McGuiness landed himself with a starring role in a top Bingo advert, getting his face out there once again. The premise of the ad is that winning the game is like getting a big old hug from our man Paddy, but of course, there’s only so much of him to go around so the ad sees him being replaced by several questionable characters dressed in matching blue tracksuits. McGuiness’ lookalikes include a mannequin, inflatable doll, completely random other men and even a hazy looking hologram. The tag line of the advert is simply “I can’t hug ‘em all” as Paddy McGuiness gives the viewers a comedic exaggerated shrug.
Someone else who’s fame was increased by their appearance on a televised Bingo advert is comedian Jayde Adams. Although she had already appeared on a couple of comedy panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, as well as their sister show 8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown, amongst other smaller projects and appearances, arguably her face would not be necessarily recognisable to the majority of the general public.
In 2018 she got her chance to be a regular feature of our telly watching lives when she starred in a Bingo ad with the tag line “Are You Gonna Bingo?”. With the theme song being a light-hearted re-write of Funky Dee’s grime track (the original title being “Are You Gonna Bang Doe?”), Adams trolls the streets asking the Bingo based question and proving the point that you can enjoy the game literally anywhere using your smartphone. Jayde Adams and her growing crew are shown tapping away at Bingo on their phones on a mini-golf course, red carpet, field, greyhound racing track and even an Asian tea plantation, all because of their handy Bingo app!
The rising popularity of online Bingo is a great opportunity for celebrities and the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow to ensure that they are seen and heard as they endorse these games. It would seem that as each ad is released, their content becomes more bizarre and even more entertaining. So, if you’re still looking for your five minutes of fame, we suggest you look no further.
