Marketing specialist Paddy Power capitalised on the huge furore surrounding the protest by plane at Old Trafford this weekend by joining in on the act. There has been much media coverage on the fact that a group of disgruntled Manchester United fans raised funds for a fly-by message to express their dissatisfaction with current manager David Moyes, and the Irish bookmaker decided to capitalise on it.
Moments after the sky message reading ‘Wrong One – Moyes Out’, Paddy Power’s own plane message came into view, saying: ‘Fergie Back In 6/1 Paddy Power’.
After a couple of controversial marketing ploys recently surrounding Oscar Pistorius and the next animal to be euthanised by a Danish zoo, the latest stunt has been accepted widely in good humour. It’s not the first time this season that Paddy Power has gained coverage at the expense of the plight of Manchester United fans. Early in March the company dropped off at Old Trafford an effigy of Sir Alex Ferguson inside a see through cabinet bearing the legend ‘In Case of Emergency Smash Glass’.