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PaddyPower PR stunt announces their Huddersfield Town FC ‘unsponsorship’

PaddyPower at first revealed their sponsorship of Huddersfield Town FC (who emphatically crashed out of the Premier League last season). They unveiled their new kit sporting them in a friendly on Wednesday. The strips featured the PaddyPower logo draped in a horrific, sash-like fashion across the chest. The online world was up in arms at the design. Derision was relentless and questions over the regulations on shirt sponsorships were such that the FA reportedly contacted the club in order to investigate.

This morning, however, the masters of subversive PR and marketing admitted the hoax. They explained they would be ‘unsponsoring’ Huddersfield Town FC by removing their logo from the kit altogether. Not only has the PR stunt attracted huge amounts of attention this week but the Huddersfield Town FC strip will stand out all season long as the only kit without a brand logo. Top marks PaddyPower, you’ve certainly made the most of this marketing opportunity by thinking outside the box 👏.

See more at The Drum.

Instagram rolls out ‘hiding likes’

A big shake-up is coming to the social media world, Instagram announced earlier this year that they would trial hiding likes shown on the platform. This would be an attempt to combat the social and societal pressures of having ‘popular’ social media content. 

Both Australia and Canada are currently part of the trial. Mia Garlick, the Director of Public Policy for Facebook and Instagram in Australia and New Zealand, said, “we know that people come to Instagram to express themselves and to be creative and follow their passions. And we want to make sure it’s not a competition.”

Read the full article on ABC.

Plant-based milk on the rise: 25% of Britons are drinking them

According to new research by Mintel, the number of people turning to plant-based milk alternatives in the UK is on the rise, with this trend especially high for millennial consumers. Health appears to be the key driver in people’s decision to switch, followed by ethics and the environment. The data table below shows a pretty compelling environmental argument for making the switch!

One interesting insight was provided by Sam Friskey, co-founder of Fit Deli, who said: “Having made the shift [to plant-based alternatives] I then began to understand about animal welfare and the planet.” As such plant-based milk is likely to become a “gateway” to people going fully vegan.

It looks as though plant-based milk is not only on the rise but is also generating awareness around the ethical and environmental issues that people may not have considered before. Whilst sales of cow milk still HEAVILY outway any plant-based alternatives, you can’t ignore this lifestyle trend that continues to grow in popularity and accessibility. 

Find out more via BBC.

New emojis inbound 🙌

The news that you’ll soon be able to drop waffle emojis ‘til your heart’s content may not sound revolutionary but the range of new emojis Apple has announced this week is a necessary improvement on fair and equal representation within our day to day communications. Other than a few more foodie icons, clothing and other objects, there’ll be a host of new emojis that represent the differently-abled as well as new skin tone variations. These include emojis that represent wheelchair users, people with prosthetic limbs and more options for skin tone selection, most notably the new holding hands emoji (👫👬👭) will open up 75 variations to choose personalized gender and skin tone combinations:

In a press release, Apple said, “celebrating diversity in all its many forms is integral to Apple’s values and these new options help fill a significant gap in the emoji keyboard.”

As our use of this digital language is ever-increasing, the importance that a representative vocabulary is paramount.

See more at PaperMag