TWEETS: Paddy Power heavily criticised for immigrant 'joke'
The Paddy Power marketing team sometimes seem to thrive on angering people and pushing the boundaries of taste - and they're at it again.
The bookmaker’s Twitter account posted pictures of a truck emblazoned with the company colours and logo, apparently driving through Dover.
The slogan on the truck reads: “Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport.)”
The truck also has sportsmen who represent England (despite not being born in the country) pictured on the side, including Mo Farah and our own Eoin Morgan.
Currently there is a
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Migrants have been taking advantage of slow-moving and queueing traffic by trying to board vehicles bound for Britain.
Truckers for their part are being fined for having migrants on board when they reach the UK.
Paddy Power’s latest publicity gimmick has not gone down well.
@quarsan Clearly @paddypower has spotted a market opening in the obnoxiousness sector now that Michael O'Leary has gone all nice and caring.
— Roger O'Keeffe /Ruaidhrí Ó Caoimh (@rogerokeeffe) July 2, 2015
Paddy Power, a completely distasteful, heartless company. https://t.co/QupjyVf7Lb
— Kevin Kelly (@kevindublin) July 2, 2015
@darrenrichman paddy power is like the kid in your class who just goes out of the way to offend to get attention.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) July 2, 2015
The company explained their reasoning in their blog.
They said: “Lots of people are keen to stop migrants arriving in England, but at the same time will cheer on high calibre athletes representing their country, even if those athletes aren’t actually from their country. That’s what we would call a ‘quandary’.”
So there you have it - not a crass joke as some felt, but hard-hitting social commentary...
