Paddy Power abandons Euro 2024 campaign featuring Boris Johnson following staff backlash

UK-based bookmaker Paddy Power has canceled its Euro 2024 advertising campaign featuring former Prime Minister Boris Johnson after facing backlash from its staff. Johnson, the lead campaigner for Brexit in 2016, was set to appear in an England No 10 jersey with the slogan “I told you I would get us back in Europe.”

The campaign, which had been approved, met resistance from Paddy Power’s staff in Britain, who expressed discomfort with promoting such a divisive figure and using language that mocked Brexit, an issue that polarized the country and affected relationships with other European nations, the New York Times reports.

Flutter Entertainment, Paddy Power’s parent company, confirmed that Johnson’s role in its Euro 2024 campaign, which was set to air in the coming weeks, has been canceled but did not disclose the reason, the report said.

“We have been speaking to Boris Johnson’s team about a number of opportunities, one of which was an idea for a cameo role in a TV advert,” Flutter Entertainment, said. “We remain hopeful of working together in the near future,” it added.

Paddy Power, known for its controversial publicity stunts, has a history of provocative advertising. In 2010, it faced complaints for an ad featuring a blind soccer player appearing to kick a cat. In 2012, it paid a fine to UEFA after a Danish soccer player promoted the brand on his underwear during the European championship. And in 2020, the company apologized for a social media video containing homophobic comments.

Johnson’s inclusion in the campaign also contrasted with some of the views his government held about gambling. As prime minister, his administration called for the English soccer federation to cancel a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with a prominent betting company.