Betfred has launched a “playful” new ad series ahead of this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The bookmaker’s marketing drive – titled ‘Pick Your Nose’ – invites fans to “get in on the action”, by picking their favourite horse.

The campaign, conceived by Manchester-based creative agency Sergeant Walnuts, will run across-out-of-home, press, radio, social media and retail activations ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, which begins on 11 March.

“Pick your nose gives us a flexible platform which can be adapted to work across all key racing meets and festivals and allows us to highlight our offers and specials in an attention-grabbing way,” said Cath Ryan, head of brand and customer experience at Bedfred.

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“By having a more playful approach to our comms, through an idea that is rooted in a fundamental truth about racing, we’re hoping to appeal to both ardent racing enthusiasts, as well as the more occasional bettor who might only engage with horse racing a couple of times a year,” she said.

Richard Attwater, MD and co-founder of Sergeant Walnuts said “Betfred is known for having incredible history and prestige, and will always be at the forefront of offering fantastic value. We therefore created a campaign to communicate this in a way to help us stand out, as well as being an eye-catching call to action. ‘Pick Your Nose’ ticks every box.”