Paint company Dulux has issued an apology after it began its reign as a sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur FC with a series of tweets ridiculing the club.
Yesterday, immediately after being named the Premier League club’s Official Paint Supplier (yes, there is such a thing, apparently!), the Dulux UK Twitter account laid into its new partner with jibes about the club’s defensive woes and lack of trophies. The light-hearted but perhaps poorly judged tweets included a picture of an empty trophy cabinet with Spurs branding on it, and a suggestion that the firm’s dog mascot could “do a better job” than the club’s current defenders.
The disparaging tweets have all now been deleted and Dulux has apologised for the jokes, adding that it is carrying out an investigation.
We’re deeply sorry for the posts from Dulux this morning in response to the announcement of our relationship with @SpursOfficial.These do not reflect how proud we are to be the Official Paint Supplier of the Club. We’re investigating what happened and apologise to all Spurs fans.
— Dulux UK | Colour & Inspiration (@duluxuk) April 15, 2021
The jokes were harmless enough, and any devoted football fan will know that if you can’t have a laugh at your own club’s expense, you need a new hobby. Indeed, some Spurs fans appear to have found the whole episode funny.
In a politically correct world, the comments were a breath of fresh air!Light hearted and funny.From a commercial aspect, the reason for sponsoring Spurs is to raise Dulux profile-this was not just on Twitter but many other social media and communication apps. Job done! Spurs fan
— James (@grumpygups) April 16, 2021
Dulux man trust me people will appreciate u more for bantering us than sponsoring us so u might as well lmao. Plus even as a spurs fan it was well funny😂😂
— Jude (@thfc_jude) April 15, 2021
It hardly seems like the most professional approach though, and nor is it the first piece of social media controversy involving Tottenham in recent weeks. Last month, goalkeeper Joe Hart was put in an uncomfortable position by his social media team with a “job done” Instagram post after his team’s surprise exit from the UEFA Europa League at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb.
On this occasion, however, Spurs have won the plaudits with this clever reply to Dulux’s apology:
We’ll gloss over it this time… https://t.co/h8MkvJ8FBi
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 15, 2021
Followed by these images, which suggested that the Dulux dog’s football allegiances lie with local rivals Arsenal:
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 15, 2021
Fair play to Spurs for making the best of a difficult situation, but it highlights the importance of companies being on the same wavelength as their clients when involved in social media campaigns. At Engage Web, we always agree a content brief with clients for any ongoing website or social media content, ensuring matters like tone and whether to include humour are agreed upon. For a pristine finish rather than a botch job, speak to us today.
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