UK betting firm Paddy Power's latest marketing stunt once again drew attention, as the company wheeled out a semi truck with a sign that read: “Immigrants, jump in the back! (but only if you’re good at sport)”.
The ad features the images of footballers Raheem Sterling (Jamaica), Mo Farah (Somalia), cricketer Eoin Morgan (Ireland), ruby player Mannu Tuilagi (Samoa), and tennis star Andy Murray (who hails from Scotland...)
The stunt was pulled to draw impressions from both sides of the immigration debate, as heavy opinions on both sides seems to draw out opinions of all sorts. The stunt drew a lot of negative publicity for Paddy Power, as the Guardian newspaper opined: "If there was any doubt that the world of marketing is often all but indistinguishable from online trolling by bedroom-dwelling teenagers, proof has arrived in the shape of a promotional campaign for a bookmaker which makes light of the plight of migrants trying to reach the UK via Calais."
A Paddy Power Spokesman said that the stunt was just a bit of fun, telling the Guardian, “It’s a bit of craic, it’s a bit of fun. Listen, it’s just a joke, and we’re referencing the long-running joke about Andy Murray and the issue of if he’s Scottish. That’s all it is. It’s meant to entertain. It’s certainly not meant to offend. Humour is subjective.”