So poignant Scot Andy Murray is finally proud Brit Andy Murray. And nobody is happier for him than Daily Bread.
Murray’s spectacular triumph in Monday’s rain-delayed final of the US Open completes a redemptive arc that saw his traumatic loss in the Wimbledon final followed by a cathartic win on the same turf at the Olympics. Those scenes were as inspirational as anything summoned by Wiggins, Farah, Weir, Simmonds and the rest.
Murray - whose sponsorship with Scots water brand Highland Spring ended last year - is now being touted as a £100m man in terms of earning potential. His historic heroics were also rewarded with a reception on Monday night at the British consulate in New York, where he was given a luxury hamper including Hula-Hoops, Maltesers, Hob-Nobs and, of course, the obligatory Irn-Bru.
Murray has got some stick over the years for being a bit of a surly teenager type, which hardly seems fair considering he still was a teenager when the sniping started. We don’t know whether he pointed out to the assembled grandees that he’s lately been on a gluten-free diet - emulating the man he beat in the final, Novak Djokovic. The Serb himself kicked the wheat before embarking on his annus totally bloody mirabilis in 2011, when he dispatched all-comers as readily as Murray presumably did his can of Irn-Bru.
Murray’s win has bookended a great summer of British sport (let’s ignore the lacklustre Euro 2012 and our cricketers getting a rare shoeing from South Africa… the rest of the media certainly has) and given us another excuse to look back on those golden Olympic weeks. But like the shark that must keep swimming to survive, Sainsbury’s has moved on already.
With the embers of the Paralympic flame still smouldering like the good looks of a national sporting icon, its new ad is all about Brand Match. It takes explicit aim at rivals Tesco and Asda in slightly bitchy fashion, meaning there’s no sign of the statesmanlike David Beckham, on whom Sainsbury’s leaned so heavily during the summer. Maybe there’s a new Goldenballs in town.
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