Stephen A. Smith Debates the Recipe for Football Success in ESPN BET Spot

ESPN BET, the official sportsbook of ESPN, today debuts 'Deli,' a 30 second commercial featuring First Take commentator/executive producer and NBA Countdown Analyst, Stephen A. Smith. This is the second ESPN BET commercial starring the popular morning show personality.  

The spot features Stephen at his local deli where he proceeds to debate the deli owner and other customers about the recipe for success in football. In true Stephen A. Smith fashion, the debate heats up and then he is surprised to learn his local deli is a big fan of another media personality who he happens to share the First Take desk with on Wednesdays.

“We’re excited to debut this fun, new ESPN BET spot featuring Stephen A. as football season gets underway. Sports and betting discussion is happening around the clock and this ad puts Stephen A. in his element as he weighs in on a football debate,” said Jennifer Weissman, chief marketing officer, PENN Entertainment. 'Deli' reinforces a key theme in our approach with the ESPN BET product and brand, that betting is a natural extension of sports fandom."

“For this most recent round of ESPN BET we wanted to capture that playful tension you get when having a sports debate with a friend, family member, or even your neighbourhood Deli owner,” said Chris Kim, creative director at Arts & Letters Creative Co. “And who better to have that debate than one of the most notorious debaters, Stephen A. Smith.”

'Deli' continues ESPN BET’s 'What a Play.' campaign theme of how fan-driven sports narratives create engaging betting moments, and is the eighth original spot of the campaign that began with the sportsbook’s launch in November 2023.

In addition to Smith, ESPN talent featured within advertisements over the past nine months include SportsCenter Anchor Scott Van Pelt, ESPN NBA Analyst Kendrick Perkins, ESPN Get Up Host Mike Greenberg, ESPN SportsCenter Commentator and Sports Betting Analyst 'Stanford' Steve Coughlin, and SportsCenter host Elle Duncan.

The spots are developed in collaboration with creative agency Arts & Letters.