So Euro 2012 is done and dusted and, for today at least, a nation turns its hungry eyes to SW19 in the hope that Britain’s brave Andy Murray doesn’t become Scottish flop Andy Murray again.
As The Grocer reported over the weekend in the latest Focus On Beer & Cider, it wasn’t so much a run at the Euros drinks makers were counting on, as sunny weather.
Even so, the first casualty of England’s trademark penalty exit emerged over the weekend. Lucozade - wary of what you might call the ‘reverse halo’ or ‘devil horns’ effect - quietly dropped Ashley Young from ads just hours after his penalty miss.
Except the dropping wasn’t so quiet. An email from company bosses to media partners, calling off the ads, found its way to the Mirror, revealing the speed with which GSK looked to distance itself.
“The team lost but our commitment to Ashley is the same as it was before the match,” a GSK spokesman told the paper. “He’s one of the most exciting players in the world and we’re delighted he’s [still] a Lucozade Sport ambassador.”
In fact, GSK has no reason to apologise. With the Olympics less than a month away, it was only natural to revert to ads with track & field contenders Mo Farrah and Phillips Idowu, regardless of Young’s role in the defeat.
England fans, meanwhile, are left to wish Roy Hodgson had acted as swiftly and dropped Young after his dismal showing in the group stages. Stewart Downing would have buried that pen.
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