Hails & Fails – June 9th 2023
As the football season comes to a spectacular end with the Champions League final this weekend, we’ve a treble of Premier League level PR campaigns to celebrate and one unlucky loser to commiserate with.
Supermarket Aldi launched a temperature-regulated wine-billboard, cheeky bookmakers Paddy Power gave Manchester United fans some respite from Man City news and video game Diablo IV went guerrilla amid New York’s dense smog this week.
It was not a great week for football bosses at FIFA after they were censured for “false and misleading” greenwashing over last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
HAILS
Aldi turns Manchester into Wine-chester for Rosé Day
An Aldi billboard dispensed FREE rosé to passers-by in Manchester when the weather hit a perfect 19.2c this week.
Lucky shoppers enjoyed a glass of Aldi’s Provence Rosé in perfect weather conditions ahead of National Rosé Day on 10th June.
The taps started pouring at around 1pm and continued to dispense free rosé until 7pm in St Ann’s Square, Manchester yesterday and today.
The stunt came on the back of research that revealed rosé as the ‘perfect summer drink’.
The perfect summer stunt? Probably…
Paddy Power launches Man City News Blocker for Reds
Man Utd fans can download new ‘Blues blocker’ tech that stops Man City Treble chat from penetrating their online world this weekend.
As arch-rivals Manchester City are one step away from a historic Treble, fans of Manchester United will be hoping their city rivals are unable to match the Red Devils’ 1999 feat.
To spare United supporters from the constant City chat, Paddy Power has released a Google plug-in that blocks out all Manchester City news from the internet.
The tech can also block tweets from loud-mouthed City fans, like Liam and Noel Gallagher, and is available free of charge to download from the Google Chrome Web Store.
Great national media coverage for the campaign in the run up to the Champions League Final this weekend.
Diablo IV goes guerrilla to cash in on monstrous NYC Weather
They say timing is everything, and that was certainly true for video game Diablo IV this week as their new ‘Welcome to Hell’ billboards were erected just as hellish clouds of smoke caused fear in New Yorkers everywhere.
Spewed by Quebec’s wildfires, the spine-chilling clouds made visibility eerily low and the mood in the city that of awe & confusion.
Conveniently for the brand, this immersed fans into the world of the video game.
Coincidence or not, this is a guerrilla campaign at its foggiest finest.
Though New Yorkers were soon sent back to reality when they discovered the state of the “unhealthy” air quality…
FAILS
FIFA given the ultimate red card for “greenwashing”
While football fans across the country have been celebrating the end of a thrilling season, football’s very own governing body FIFA has been hanging its head in shame.
Ordered to stop describing the 2022 World Cup as “carbon neutral” because the claim is “false and misleading”, the brand has been accused of misleading hundreds of millions of fans around the world who were made to believe that their favourite tournament has no impact on the climate.
According to the Swiss Fairness Commission, this was a substantial distance from the truth.
Ouch!
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