Heineken is pretty sure there are no female soccer fans (in Brazil)

Adfreak's Tim Nudd writes:

Evidently not worried about cries of sexism, Heineken has organized a giant shoe sale in Brazil this Saturday—so that women will flock to it and leave their boyfriends and husbands in peace to watch the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid.

Really? Really:



I guess Heineken and and their friends at Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo forgot that not only do women in Brazil like sports, but also that these types of campaigns tend to get international brands in trouble.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about this man stuff on the field.
Just grab me a Heinie and go shoe shopping."
(Photo via Mirror UK)

This bullshit is even sadder when you realize that women in Brazil were not allowed to play soccer, professionally, until 1979.

Aline Pellegrino was the captain of the Brazilian women's national team from 2005-2013, has been on three Olympic teams and played in the Women's World Cup twice. She told PRI, "All the girls of my generation played with young boys. I didn't see women playing on TV. There was nobody to look up to or be inspired by."

Ms. Pellegrino co-founded Guerreiras Project to "use futebol as a tool to promote gender justice and create possibilities for more equitable and sustainable ways of being."

That's right, Heineken. Soccer is actually a major feminist issue in Brazil. For years, women have been fighting to be taken seriously as athletes there. They are referred, jeeringly, to as "zapatón" [actually, "sapatão" - see comments] or big shoes. It's a homophobic slur against lesbians.

And Heineken just told them to go buy some shoes and leave soccer to the menfolk.

A really, really, horrible monument to victims of the Superga air disaster

According to La Repubblica, this monument was installed May 4th in the town of Borgaro Torinese, just outside of Turin, Italy.

It's a memorial to the victims of the Superga air disaster. On May 4, 1949, a plane carrying most of Torino A.C. football team crashed nearby, killing all 31 passengers.

Many Italians are outraged, calling it "ugly, disrespectful and especially gruesome." There is apparently an Avaaz.org petition against it, but I can't find it online.

It was installed by the local government, with support from local fan group Toro Club Borgaro Grenade.

Thanks to @tejucole for the tip.

Umbro takes a very English shot at Nike

Via The Drum

Classic British sportswear brand Umbro has been supplying the official "kit" to England's football (soccer) teams since the 1950s. That's a big deal to the fans, according to The Daily Mail:

When Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers contested the Matthews Final in 1953, they did so wearing Umbro. When a 17-year-old Pele entered the world stage at the World Cup in 1958, he did so in Umbro tailoring.  

When Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy for England in 1966, he wore a red Umbro shirt, and when Celtic and Manchester United pioneered European club success for Britain in the sixties, they were head to toe in Umbro.  

When Banks made that improbable save in 1970, when Gazza wept, when Butcher bled, when Southgate failed and when Beckham kicked out – it was all in Umbro attire. 

But no more. Nike acquired Umbro in 2008, then sold it off to Iconix last year. But guess who got to keep the uniform contract? Tonight is the last time the team will wear Umbro.

As a parting shot, and to commemorate their history with British Football, Umbro unveiled this ad today with a snide abuse of Nike's brand essence.

The Drum quotes a branded press release:

 It's been an honour to be associated with the national team for such a long period of time, and we wanted to take this occasion to celebrate some of the classic kits we've created for England. 

Umbro’s founder Harold Humphreys once said: ‘There are three things which constitute the ability to succeed - enthusiasm, tenacity and sheer damned cheek - but all in good measure. 

We think that we've stuck by these principles over the past 89 years, and we will continue to do so as we look forward to a bright future.

Brazil 1, Argentina 0 in the battle of obscene typography

Tulipan is a condom manufacturer, and according to Reddit, they posted these graphically homoerotic/phobic ads in Argentina before an exhibition soccer match with their South American rival.

Turns out Brazil won, and later ran this perfect rebuttal:

Dear PeTA...

It's me again. I know we've had our differences, but I think I've found some common ground. So please put your clothes back on, lay off trying to guilt me into being a vegan for now, and do everything in your power to see to it that this psychopath goes to prison:



This is a scene from a Colombian professional soccer league game last weekend, between Deportivo Pereira and Atlético Junior (the home team in Barranquilla). The owl, which lived on the roof of the stadium and was considered a mascot of Junior, had alighted on the field and was accidentally hit by a ball in play.

Angered at the interference, Pereira player Luis Moreno went back and kicked the bird — causing injuries that later proved fatal.

Moreno was immediately confronted by angry opposing players. He left the game under heavy guard and was handed a two-game suspension by the league, as well as a  $560 fine for animal abuse.

Of course, that was not the end of it. Both local fans and animal rights advocates from around the world have risen up against the act, uttering death threats against the player, and establishing numerous Facebook pages and groups demanding everything from his firing to his brutal murder.

Me, I just want to see civilized justice. NY Daily News says that under Colombia Law, Moreno could face up to 3 months in jail.

Why do I care? I eat meat, after all, and the animals I eat are dispatched with pretty much just as brutal efficiency (behind closed doors).

Well, this may sound odd, but it's not just about the animal for me. It's about what this says about people. Humans who treat other living things with such senseless cruelty show a lack of empathy and impulse control that is seen in individuals who are later diagnosed with psychopathy. By punishing the infraction against another animal, we may be able to prevent escalation to human-on-human violence.

So, PeTA... instead of using this incident to grandstand against sports mascots in general, why not recognize this incident as an opportunity to get mainstream support? Nobody likes what Moreno did, because it showed a complete disregard for life and social values. Go after the man himself, and mobilize your troops to demand justice from the Colombian legal system, and insist that he is banned from the league.

And keep it civilized, please. There are already enough death threats and racial epithets being thrown around. When anyone calls for cruelty as retribution for cruelty, we all lose a little something inside.