NFL fans rip into Brees after faking lightning strike for betting ad

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NFL fans were left angry and frustrated after it appeared Drew Brees faked getting struck by lightning as part of a betting advert. The New Orleans Saints icon has been slammed as a result after the gambling company released a dramatic video appeared to show Brees in danger while filming a commercial.

On Monday, Brees tweeted he was ‘excited to be flying to a top-secret location’ to film a betting commercial. The company are running a promotion for ‘lightning bets’ – so the creatives got to work. 

In the viral video, the legendary quarterback is seen filming near the Catatumbo River in Venezuela when a bolt of lightning appears to suddenly strike. Brees is seen in the foreground of the video wearing a sweater with the number nine on it, while the iconic ripple of lightning over the Venezuelan river can be seen in the background.

A moment later, a large flash is seen on camera accompanied by a loud crack of thunder as the camera drops to the ground and a woman is heard shouting. According to an analysis published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the region sees large lightning bolts displayed an average of 297 days a year.

As concerns grew for Brees on social media on Thursday night, the betting company refused to give up on the stunt and even released a cryptic statement where it failed to confirm what had gone down. In the end, several journalists tweeted that they had contacted Brees and he had not been struck by lightning. 

Finally, the betting company released another video of Brees revealing it was all a marketing stunt for their ‘lightning bets’. Brees also tried to make light of the stunt, tweeting: “The lightning must’ve thought I was wearing a Falcons jersey, that’s why it tried to get me I’m fine…Who Dat!”

Unsurprisingly, social media users reacted angrily to the PR ploy. Metry Gal (@MetryGal) wrote: “So disappointed in Drew. People were legit worried for him and his family. This marketing ploy is disgusting.”

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Another user, Matthew Wiley (@wiley77) used the video to joke that he was ready to step in whenever the gambling company needed a new marketing team. He wrote: “I am available when you fire your ad agency!”

A rival betting company even commented on the video where Brees revealed the original clip was all a ploy in an attempt to snatch frustrated users. They tweeted: “If you’re looking for somewhere else to bet…”

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