July 22 – Bookmaker Paddy Power has added a second top tier shirt sponsorship to their ‘Save our Shirt’ marketing campaign – with Motherwell of the Scottish Premier League now joining Huddersfield Town.
The bookie has become the club’s main sponsor but will not activate the sponsorship via their logo on the club shirt, which will remain ‘clean’ – they are promoting their high ethical position as regards the shirt logo calling it an ‘unsponsorship’.
Paddy Power last week launched a ‘hoax’ kit for Huddersfield Town as part of the same campaign, prior to the club’s official kit launch. The hoax kit (which had a sash with the Paddy Power name across it) prompted an enquiry from the English Football League forcing Paddy Power to come clean on the marketing hoax but giving the gambling firm the opportunity to push their logo-free shirt message – a cheeky dig at their betting rivals but also, they say, aimed at other shirt sponsors.
Victor Corcoran, managing director of Paddy Power, said: “As a sponsor, we know our place, and it’s not on your shirt. So today we are calling on other sponsors to join the Save Our Shirt campaign, and give something back to the fans.”
As the club’s title sponsor, Paddy Power has the right to use the front of the kit, instead it is focussing activity elsewhere, donating part of their sponsorship to the Huddersfield Town Foundation, and setting up an amnesty outside the John Smith’s Stadium on the first day of the season, where they will exchange 500 new kits for previous branded versions.
Corcoran, presumably tongue-in-cheek, said: “Shirt sponsorship in football has gone too far. We accept that there is a role for sponsors around football, but the shirt should be sacred.”
Paddy Power announced the Motherwell partnership saying: “Motherwell are the second club to join the Save Our Shirt campaign, which sees us give something back to the fans – namely, their shirt. We’re delighted that The Well are joining in the fun for the upcoming campaign and we’ve been impressed with their ability to keep their involvement top secret, despite all the noise of the past week. We’ve been planning this with them for months.”
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