FanDuel Gronk Kick of Destiny More Like Kick of Buffoonery

Don't get us wrong.  We like some of what FanDuel does in terms of commercials.  They are often much smarter versus their competition.  Being among the first to show a profit over the summer adds credence to that argument.

But the Gronk Kick of Destiny ad during this year's Super Bowl was a complete dud and hopefully FanDuel will not become subject to the dreaded Super Bowl advertising curse.

Pretty much everyone we spoke to looked forward to the retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski taking to the field during the Super Bowl commercial break and attempting a field goal.  Instead we got what appeared to be a computer generated commercial that hardly lived up to all the hype, especially being that he made the attempt via a remote location. 

FanDuel Sportsbook ran the promotion, promising to give away $10 million in free bets to fans if his kick attempt was successful, which it was not.  At the end of the commercial, FanDuel promised free bets to all.

A number of media companies are in bed with FanDuel so you'll find them gushing over the ad the morning after.  Even they confessed there was "some confusion".  Some?

Would we fire the person who came up with this concept?

Probably not.  It served its purpose by generating lot of buzz.  But still!  We all were left thinking, WTF?

The Gambling911 Winning Props

The first field goal missing spiked Gambling911's traffic this year.  It was among the most sought after Super Bowl prop bets of the hundreds covered by G911.

Halftime props were all the rage with a last minute surge for whether or not this year's artist Rihanna would show cleavage, which she did not.  The cleavage prop ultimately reigned supreme for us this Super Bowl.

Had BetOnline offered an Over/Under on the number of times Rihanna grabbed her crotch, the Gambling911 website would surely have been knocked offline due to the traffic coming in.

Despite all the web traffic seeking out various prop bet offerings, it was the sudden and shocking death of a popular online gambling industry figure, Lars Rosenberg, that witnessed the most views on the day.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com