Smile Direct: Annoyed the FCB and its fans with advertisement
An ad by car insurance company Smile Direct featuring FCB fans has caused a stir. The advertising poster, created by the agency Ruf Lanz for the National Suisse subsidiary, shows cheering FCB fans who come across a white Porsche adorned with the FCZ logo on a side street in Zurich.
An ad by car insurer Smile Direct featuring FCB fans that ran in the Swiss Sunday media has raised a ruckus. The ad, created by the Ruf Lanz agency for the National Suisse subsidiary, features jeering FCB fans encountering a white Porsche adorned with the FCZ logo in a Zurich side street.
Markus Lehmann, president of the Basel Fan Project, is outraged by the campaign subject and, in an interview with Baz.online, accuses the ad of suggesting violence. FCB spokesman Josef Zindel also calls the ad "tasteless" and "insensitive." He says that a lot has been done in recent years to combat violence around football and that the ad now represents a provocation for FCB fans.
The advertising motif was intended as a humorous allusion, Daniel Briel of Smile Direct told the newspaper 20 Minuten. The insurance company has since apologized to FCB and offered to financially support the juniors as compensation. The campaign was stopped immediately.
Legally, however, the whole thing could have repercussions for the insurance company, because neither FCB nor FCZ were asked whether their club logos could be used. Both clubs reserve the right to take legal action for infringement of trademark rights, writes 20 Minuten on Tuesday.
Markus Lehmann, president of the Basel Fan Project, is outraged by the campaign subject and, in an interview with Baz.online, accuses the ad of suggesting violence. FCB spokesman Josef Zindel also calls the ad "tasteless" and "insensitive." He says that a lot has been done in recent years to combat violence around football and that the ad now represents a provocation for FCB fans.
The advertising motif was intended as a humorous allusion, Daniel Briel of Smile Direct told the newspaper 20 Minuten. The insurance company has since apologized to FCB and offered to financially support the juniors as compensation. The campaign was stopped immediately.
Legally, however, the whole thing could have repercussions for the insurance company, because neither FCB nor FCZ were asked whether their club logos could be used. Both clubs reserve the right to take legal action for infringement of trademark rights, writes 20 Minuten on Tuesday.
