Showmax and Eric Cantona are at loggerheads over marketing

There is a surefire way to ensure this stunt from Showmax TV, involving former Manchester United football star Eric Cantona, will come as a complete surprise to his fellow presenters.

This is the look on presenter Julia Stewart and Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves’ face as Cantona reportedly stormed off Matchday LiveThe show is about the most popular league in the world, the Premier League.

Neither presenter was prepared for the scene – as evidenced by their near-shocked demeanours – but neither was they prepared to challenge the volatile Frenchman.

After all, Cantona gained permanent football infamy by ‘kicking’ an obnoxious fan on the touchline during a match against Crystal Palace in 1995.

This time, Cantona’s carefully orchestrated tantrum was kept secret even from the small production team on the London set.

A successful marketing gimmick

He began to erupt when host Stewart mentioned “television,” prompting him to take off the microphone, remove his jacket and tie, and preach about liberating the beautiful sport and letting it “fly.”

The only way to do that is to show it on mobile devices – which is exactly what Showmax is promoting through a special subscription offer for customers across Africa.

But what really made the stunt work was that many people were fooled by it at first – Cantona was unpredictable, after all – and then social media went wild as the stunt quickly went viral.

Yatish Narsi, Chief Marketing Officer at Showmax, said: “The stunt has resulted in a 72% week-on-week increase in PR coverage, a PR value of over R35 million and over 27,000 mentions on social media. The stunt has been picked up by major football websites around the world, including Sports BibleThe Daily Mail, etc. ”

Whatever it costs to acquire Cantona, these figures suggest a staggering return on investment.

But Cantona’s performance was certainly worth watching, because he lived his role and people could feel his passion for the game.

Few sports stars can be so good in front of the camera. But then, maybe he’s just being himself.

It was a great marketing move.

Orchids to all the participants: Showmax, Multichoice, T+W, Retroviral, grid, 22Ours, Encircle.

Last but not least, thank you, Eric. You did a great job this time, sir.

Melon Mobile and Lift failed to hit targets

A colleague sent me a social media post about the show Express They were doing a glowing interview (this was a strictly advertorial show, after all) about Melon Mobile and its “brazen” takeover of the Lift airline billboards.

The question is: What is the point you are really trying to make?

Is Melon partnering with Lift to offer free trials to riders – or is this available to everyone?

I don’t know, and judging by the information on the billboard, no one knows.

Lift users might get annoyed if they find out everyone is eligible, and non-Lift users might get annoyed if they find themselves excluded.

Ads that are confusing (or that have to be explained afterward) don’t work.

Therefore, Onion can be used for both Melon Mobile and Lift.