Media

That News International online strategy: launch sweepstakes with footy blogs but don't tell them

Darren Atwater | Thursday 17 June, 2010 15:26

If turning off the Times’ website to the public was not enough, the brain trust at News International took their leet online skillz to the Sun’s sport section.

The Sun launched a World Cup Sweepstakes involving 32 footy-related blogs. The trouble is, they didn’t actually ask anyone of them first. Once launched, an email was sent offering ‘bit of friendly competition between the best football blogs during the World Cup.’

One blog, It’ll Be Off had gone defunct, only resurrecting itself to mock the Sun.

I want to make it abundantly clear to everyone: I have nothing to do with this. I want nothing to do with this. And I am furious that the good(ish) name of my little blog, that ceased to be a concern some six months ago, is being used by the worst of all tabloids as some fucking publicity machine for their horrendous sweepstake generating iPhone app, and their even more horrendous newspaper. As I posted on Facebook when all this started, “Yeah, sure, I’ll be part of your World Cup blogging network.I’ll sign up the day you explain how it took 15 years to apologise for your Hillsborough coverage. The day you aren’t part of Murdoch’s News International empire. And the day you aren’t a bunch of odious, scare-mongering, right-wing cretins”.

Goal!

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