THE MARKETING MOVES: Joe Humphreys on the repercussions that yesterday's events have had on World Cup sponsors with an Irish interest
The soft drinks company 7UP is reviewing its €750,000 World Cup advertising campaign, which centres on the Republic of Ireland captain, following yesterday's shock news from Saipan.
A spokeswoman for 7UP said it was disappointed Roy Keane was not longer a part of the squad, adding "we will make no comment further until the full facts are sorted out".
It is understood the company is taking legal advice on whether there has been any possible breach of contract.
Under the deal, which was announced just last month and is due to run to the end of the year, Keane is obliged to make personal appearances on behalf of 7UP, and participate in the advertising campaign. Ironically, the campaign offers children a chance to train with the Irish captain.
Another company believed to reviewing its World Cup marketing campaign is Walkers Crisps, which also retained Keane's services for television advertisements. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment yesterday.
Eircom, the official sponsor of the Irish team, stressed yesterday that its 10-year contract with the FAI was not linked to any particular player and, thus, there were no contractual implications from Keane's departure.
In another ironic twist, Eircom's advertising campaign for the World Cup is based on the slogan "Be There for the Team". It initially centred on the Irish captain, who, in a marketing campaign run during the World Cup qualifiers, was seen dressed in Japanese samurai uniform. The company, however, has no plans for changing its World Cup campaign, and, as luck would have it, its planned pre-tournament TV ads or "stings" did not feature Keane.
The companies involved would not say yesterday how much Keane was paid for taking part in the various campaigns.
Industry sources noted the controversy had echoes of an advertising campaign some years ago involving the pop group, the Spice Girls, which collapsed after one of the band members left.
The motorcycle company, Asprilia, which had signed the group to promote one of its models, sued the group for damages - a move which caused the group to file a counter-claim for around €340,000 in alleged unpaid fees.
In February 2000, the High Court in London ruled in favour of Asprilia, leaving the Spice Girls with a legal bill of around €1.6 million.
As for Keane, the incident is unlikely to have a major impact on his earning-potential and may even add to his reputation as a "bad boy" of soccer, which has been exploited in numerous marketing campaigns to date.
