PlayNow Sports, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation’s (BCLC) sports betting brand, believes it has found a new way to score with hockey fans who may be tired of all the sports betting ads during playoff broadcasts.

The brand has launched a TV spot that is airing throughout the Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, debuting during the game one broadcast on Saturday.

It features a shot of a roaring B.C. waterfall, complete with the serene, natural sound of birdcalls and text that acknowledges and plays off the frustration many have been expressing about the abundance of betting ads. In doing so, it flips the script on typical sports betting ads, acting as something of an anti-advertisement – one that does everything but directly pitch the sports betting product, and avoids the bright lights, up-tempo music and vocal pitchmen common to the category.

The spot draws on recent Ipsos research that shows 61% of respondents felt sports betting ads all looked the same, as well as the insight that more than five times as many people were expressing negative opinions on sports betting ads on social media the last year – the first full year since single-game sports betting was legalized in Canada.

And such ads are rampant during hockey broadcasts in particular.

“If you watch hockey, you’re also going to watch a lot of sports betting ads,” says Allan Topol, creative director at 123w, PlayNow Sports’ partner agency. “We’re always looking for ways to disrupt what’s happening in the marketplace. We think that hockey fans will appreciate our wry take on the ads.”

PlayNow is currently the only legal online sports betting site in the province, but local viewers are still exposed to betting ads placed through national buys, as well as brand integrations done through team, league and broadcaster sponsorships. The brand is hoping that giving viewers a break from the tropes those platforms use will help it stand out and help drive their consideration in the future.

“While PlayNow still needs to compete in the sports betting category as B.C.’s only legal gambling website, we’re aware of the sheer volume of sports betting ads out in the marketplace right now,” says Jessica Bieniasz, senior specialist for sports brand and advertising with the BCLC. “This aid is a simple way to acknowledge what’s happening while also standing apart from the crowd.”

This is not the first time that the BCLC has sought to set its sports betting brand apart from others. Last Fall, it ran a campaign that appealed to B.C. residents’ sense of pride in their own province, showing how betting with PlayNow can benefit the province in which they live.