Paddy Power's marketing department often cause controversy, previous examples can be found here and here.
Today proved to be another such example. The betting company unveiled this advertisement at the Cliffs of Dover:
Spotted at Dover this morning... pic.twitter.com/3RCTQp7mdl
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 2, 2015
The marketing stunt encouraged people to 'Jump In The Back' of the truck provided they were good enough at sport, and featured sports stars who were not born in England, namely Andy Murray, Raheem Sterling, Eoin Morgan, Manu Tuilagi and Mo Farah. A spokesperson on behalf of Paddy Power was quoted in The Independent as saying:
We’re not commenting on the migration crisis. What we’re doing is making a joke about Britain’s leading sports stars, in particular Andy Murray. That’s where it ends for us. We’re not wading into discussions about what’s going on. This is predominantly about Andy Murray’s nationality.
Charitable foundation GOAL responded to Paddy Power with their own tweet, highlighting the problems encountered by Syrian Immigrants.
.@paddypower It's not a game for over 4 million Syrian immigrants. #DontGambleDonatehttp://t.co/Dhoxn4r2Urpic.twitter.com/vGkK92S0r3
— GOAL Aid Agency (@GOAL_Global) July 2, 2015
