Viral Man United fan who won’t cut his hair until his club win FIVE games in a row stars in hilarious new Paddy Power ad as he prepares for reunion with barber as in-form Red Devils near his target
The viral Manchester United fan who vowed not to cut his hair until the Red Devils won five games in a row has starred in a new Paddy Power advert as his meeting with destiny approaches.
Frank Ilett, known on social media as The United Strand, started the challenge last October as a way to “spread some humour” during a difficult period for the club. Her journey has earned her significant fame, with Ilett now having 585,000 followers on Instagram.
United have won three games in a row, beating Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton, and can take that tally to five if they beat Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in their next two games.
This means Ilett could make a cut following the match against Tottenham as early as November 8 and Paddy Power – known for his quirky skits – has delved into online conversation in a new ad.
In the video, the barber can be seen saying, “Actually, this makes me sad.” ‘I miss him. He is one of my best clients. Actually it was.
‘He doesn’t even bother making appointments anymore. What’s the point?’
Viral Manchester United fan who didn’t cut his hair until the club won five games in a row stars in new Paddy Power advert
Ilett has more than 580,000 followers on Instagram and is two games away from cutting his hair
Ilett is then seen saying: ‘It started out a bit fun really. I didn’t expect it to take this long, but it’s actually okay. If I’m having a bad hair day, I can wear a hat.’
The barber continues: ‘You remain loyal to two things: your football club and your barbers. Now I wonder, will I ever see him again?’
The skit then discusses a number of freebies Frank received, saying that companies are fighting to be the ones to deliver the haircut ‘when the time comes’.
Ilett, who claimed that Anthony Gordon had the ‘weirdest hair in football’, ran towards the barbers and shouted ‘It’s time!’ He is seen shouting. His barber hugs him and asks: ‘Man United won five in a row?’
He informs his barber that the number is only three and that he will make an appointment when the time comes. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ he says as he leaves.
The vignette then cuts to six months and the barber is seen sweeping the hair and looking out the window; Ilett walks past with a larger afro than the one he currently wears.
The video ends with the barber saying ‘Damn United’.
While Illett received huge support from fans of all clubs during his marathon run, he got into an ugly argument with a fellow United fan during the team’s victory over Chelsea in September. He tried to grab her by her hair and knock her to the ground.
In September, Ilett was attacked by a fan during United’s match against Chelsea.
Ilett backed away but seemed surprised by the ordeal and managed to get some distance from the other restrained fan.
The angry fan who objected to Ilett’s challenge later said: ‘Fuck you, fuck you, I’ll do whatever I want.
‘Listen, he’s not a bloody United fan, so fuck you, fuck you.’
In the video that went viral on social media, the fan then tried to make a move for Ilett again but failed.
However, in the post on his Instagram page after the victory, it did not appear that Ilett’s day was bad because of the incident.
Sharing a photo of himself in the stands, he said: ‘What a place. My hair is wet but I still have a smile on my face! Big win today! What a crazy game it was in the end! 1 left, 4 left. COME TOGETHER!’
United have since banned Illett’s attacker.
