If there was any doubt that the world of marketing is often all but indistinguishable from online trolling by bedroom-dwelling teenagers, proof has arrived in the shape of a promotional campaign for a bookmaker which makes light of the plight of migrants trying to reach the UK via Calais.

The promotion for Paddy Power, which has attracted predictable ire on social media, is in the form of a lorry, currently en route from Dover to Calais. It carries the slogan: “Immigrants, jump in the back! (but only if you’re good at sport)” with images of Jamaican-born England footballer Raheem Sterling, Mo Farah, originally from Somalia, Samoa-origin rugby player Manu Tuilagi and England cricketer Eoin Morgan, who is from Ireland.



Confusingly, the biggest photo is of Andy Murray who, being born in Glasgow, would struggle to fit even the most rampant nationalist’s idea of an immigrant.

A spokesman for the bookmaker declined to say whether the decision to run the campaign considered the appalling conditions faced by migrants camped at Calais in the hope of making it to the UK, or the deaths of several people trying to do precisely what the slogan suggests.



“It’s a bit of craic, it’s a bit of fun,” he said. “Listen, it’s just a joke, and we’re referencing the long-running joke about Andy Murray and the issue of if he’s Scottish. That’s all it is. It’s meant to entertain. It’s certainly not meant to offend. Humour is subjective.”

@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 spokesman declined also to speculate on whether there were any subjects the bookmaker would not use to promote its business.

“We’re not commenting on the migration crisis. What we’re doing is making a joke about Britain’s leading sports stars, in particular Andy Murray. That’s where it ends for us. We’re not wading into discussions about what’s going on. This is predominantly about Andy Murray’s nationality.”

Attempting to explain how Murray could be seen as an immigrant, the spokesman said: “That’s the point. People seem to think he wants to be Scottish. A lot of people seem the think that, you know, when we want him to be British he’s British. That’s all we’re referencing here.”