This commercial is based on the idea of ‘tough love’ - it’s easy to go back every week when your club is winning, but when your team is losing - the love often feels even tougher. The ad featured 3 stories of real football fans. We scoured the country to find the right fans, the father & son who support West Ham, the Man City supporters who travel up and down the country watching their team, as well as the star of the ad, Billy. Billy has supported Everton for over 60 years, barely missing a game, and is well into his 80s now. We said 'thank you' to these fans for their unconditional love for the game.

Love Is Tough stars real fans who were scouted in working men’s clubs and pubs. It was essential for the feel of the film that we had people who understood football at the heart of it. Sophie and Ryan are both real life Man City supporters. Ryan was discovered while screaming at City in his local pub, and is actually a floor tiler. He’d never acted before in his life.

The West Ham fans Marc and Luke are both lifelong Hammers supporters and a real father and son. Marc even coaches his son’s football team. He said “It was not acting for us. It was just like going to a game for real.”

We also feature Billy Ingham who has followed Everton for over 70 years and never misses a home game, despite the rest of his family being Liverpool fans. The scenes featuring Billy getting ready for the game were filmed in his own living room, and the photo he says goodbye to was of his real wife who had died a year previously. As a result of the ad, Billy was invited onto the pitch and applauded by the entire Everton team and Goodison crowd.

People now also regularly tweet about him when he’s spotted on his way to matches.