FIFA FIGHTS BEAUTY AND BEER
Shout-Africa – FIFA 2010 World Cup has been a showcase of the universal suppression of beauty and beer, and events unfolding in South Africa leaves a lot to be desired. The FIFA drama is taking new turns as the football spectacle reaches an end. recently another Dutch brewer clashed with FIFA and the authorities. Internationally renowned brewer Heineken intended to organise a publicity march towards a football stadium in Cape Town for hundreds of Dutch football fans donning an orange helmet. Faced with FIFA’s threat to call in the police, the brewer bowed to pressure and cancelled the controversial stunt.
Heineken’s orange helmet, the Pletterpet, is shaped like a South African miner’s helmet except it features a number of tiny flags and a not so small tooter which lucky fans can use hands-free. Heineken, one of the sponsors of the Dutch team, has made the helmet the centre-piece of a massive publicity campaign.
FIFA has partnered with the local authorities to ban all publicity in and around stadiums—except for FIFA sponsors. US brewer Budweiser is one such sponsor. The ban also affects other branches, such as car and shoe brands.
Dutch brewer Bavaria also clashed with FIFA. In what was dubbed an ‘ambush marketing’ , the brewer had clad its blonde babes in sexy orange mini-dresses. Given the tight security, they had entered the stadium in normal clothes. But after they stripped to reveal their scant orange gear, the blond babes drew considerable attention. Police were quick to notice too and removed them. Some arrests were made but two of the blondes were freed by the courts.
