It isn't often you watch a 30-second spot that leaves you with feelings you can't understand.
For online casino Leo Vegas, London ad agency Now has released "Carcass," the first of a two-part series featuring client mascot Leo, the "undisputed king of mobile casino."
The spot opens with Leo leaning against a bar and eyeing some (literal!) fresh meat across the way. It's an irresistible lure: He saunters over and takes its stub of a hand, leading it to the dance floor, where the pair get familiar in ways that leave us, well, queasy at best.
The ending should surprise no one, and should even come as reassurance—the fact that Leo is still in the bar suggests he didn't have sex with his food before partaking. Maybe he even took his first bite on the dance floor, after feeling up that naked waist.
"In a category that plays by some heavily entrenched rules, we worked with Leo Vegas to create something fresh and, importantly, something that felt different to the competition," explains Now executive creative director Remco Graham, who scored his mighty title—as well as a coveted partnership slot—earlier this year.
"Leo Vegas trusted us to push the boundaries, and we're really pleased with the results."
To this, U.K. Country Manager Shenaly Amin of Leo Vegas adds, "We're on a mission to let the world know about Leo Vegas"—mission accomplished, as what we've seen we can't unsee—"and in a market with such fierce competition, we knew we had to do something different to stand out. Leo Vegas is the King of Mobile Casino, but he's just as happy playing down his local social club as he is walking down the strip in Vegas."
This isn't as weird a connection as it seems at first glance. From the perspective of the predator, why not roll the dice after seducing your lamb to the slaughter?
But it's key here to remember the cardinal rule of Vegas, even if you're not in Vegas: The house always wins; the predators are prey. And being able to gamble anytime, anywhere, probably consumes some people just as swiftly—maybe even just as willingly—as the faceless carcass in this star-crossed rendezvous.
So, Leo's sexy adventure is strangely apt, though perhaps not in the way Leo Vegas intended.
CREDITS
Client: Leo Vegas
UK Country Manager: Shenaly Amin
Agency: Now
Executive Creative Director: Remco Graham
Creative Team: Clint Harding & Juliet Kent
Head of Film & Content: Jeremy Muthana
Account Director: Jack Howker
Account Manager: Jessica Woolley
Planner: Michael McCourt
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Directors: Big Red Button
Producer: Sara Cummins
Executive Producer: Orlando Wood
Production Manager: Lucy Chambers
DOP: Richard Mott
Editing House: The Work
Editor: Rachael Spann
Grade – The Mill
Colourist – James Banford
Post-Production: Electric Theatre Collective
Audio Post: Factory Studios
Sound Engineer: Phil Bolland
