Personality of the Year 2010
On 19 December 2010, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be announced and there are many in the horse racing industry that are hoping that Tony McCoy will be walking away with this prestigious award. The award was established in 1954 by Paul Fox, and over the years the awards ceremony expanded and grew to include awards such as the Unsung Hero Award, Team of the Year, Hellen Rollason Award, Overseas Personality Award, Newcomer Award and Coach Award. This year, a new and refreshing campaign was launched by Ladbrokes to lend their support to Tony McCoy and his bid for the award.
The saying, “hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth”, has been taken to a whole new level with the video campaign that was put together by Ladbrokes. In the video, horse racing fanatics will see a number of horses, including Can’t Buy Time and Don’t Push It (which won the Grand National) from the Jonjo O’Neil stable, standing around having a conversation, discussing Tony McCoy’s achievements as a jockey. Cameo appearances by Jonjo O’Neil and McCoy can also be seen in the light-hearted video, and McCoy seems quite happy being discussed by twelve thoroughbreds, saying “It’s great that Ladbrokes and the racing industry have given me their backing. I am really appreciative of the support I am receiving from everyone in the horse world. I’m hoping to repay all the faith shown to me by horse racing fans and punters. The video is light-hearted and great fun. I’ve often said horses make more sense than people and I think it’ll give people a good laugh.”
It is easy to see why Ladbrokes has gotten behind McCoy by simply looking at his racing career. He has been named the British Jump Racing Champion of every racing season from the year 1996 until now, and has over three thousand victories under his belt. His experience and his humble approach to his career have made him a favorite amongst punters and horse racing industry members. Spokesman for Ladbrokes in regard to the ad campaign, David Williams, commented that “McCoy has cost us a fortune down the years but for once we’ll be cheering him on. He’s done more for racing than anyone and his achievements this year warrant recognition beyond racing. We’re having some fun with the video but we’re deadly serious about helping him land the Sports Personality Award.”
