‘Benders Like Beckham’ – Joe Lycett, Ten Grand and One Outrageous Idea
It won’t have escaped your attention that there is a World Cup happening in Qatar. Nor will it have escaped your attention that the tournament is a hugely controversial one. The unmistakeable stench of corruption hangs around FIFA’s decision to award the world’s premier football competition to a tiny nation with no footballing tradition. Add to this the appalling loss of life among migrant workers since Qatar was confirmed as the host country – a Guardian investigation puts the figure at 6,500 deaths – plus the lack of human rights for women and LGBTQ+ people living there, and it’s difficult to understand how anyone with a conscience could reasonably have anything to do with the World Cup 2022.
Yet the big brands have piled in with their sponsorship, as they always do, the broadcasters and TV networks are all in attendance, and the carnival is in full swing.
Against this cacophony, how are dissenting voices to make themselves heard? Surely as a lone individual there’s no way you could divert attention from the juggernaut that is Qatar 2022?
Well, if you’re Joe Lycett you can.
Joe, a bisexual British comedian, was particularly affronted that David Beckham, a man once considered a gay icon and the first premier league footballer to appear on the cover of gay magazine Attitude, had been paid a reported £10m by Qatar to be an ambassador for the tournament.
So on November 13th he posted this video on Twitter ..
The tweet was picked up by a number of news outlets. And a twitterstorm began. Was this a genius strike against hypocrisy or a misguided waste of money during a cost of living crisis?
As the week went on Joe appeared to panic …
Alas, he received no response.
So, as the deadline drew closer, Joe made a couple more tweets.
The shredder …
And the cash …
But no response from Beckham or his people was forthcoming.
So, just as he’d promised, on Sunday November 20th as the tournament kicked off, Joe, wearing a gloriously froufrou top, solemnly shredded £10,000 live on Twitter, under the banner ‘A platform for progress’ …
Boom.
Twitter erupted.
There were those in favour …
And – of course – those against …
It was stunning piece of communication. A lone comedian, under his own steam, had successfully ignited a conversation across social and the wider media about the morality of supporting the World Cup. Sure, it had cost Joe ten grand – money which would have made a difference to any charity lucky enough to receive it – but he’d made a huge splash, when a traditional 10k PR campaign would have mustered only the merest ripple.*
And then 24 hours later, while the frenzy of contrasting opinions about his stunt was still fizzing online, Joe, brilliantly, released this final video …
Genius.
Had Joe actually shredded the cash I think you could have argued that the stunt had still been a success. But to know that the money had gone to charity made it all the more powerful.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from Joe’s campaign for any brand seeking to make an impact amid the noise and chaos of modern media …
Keep it simple. This was a straightforward, single-minded, dramatic idea, easily communicated that everyone could understand.
Use what you already have. In Joe’s case, one million Twitter followers (a number now significantly higher).
Be genuine. The campaign was powerful because it came from a real place. Joe was outraged by the human rights abuses in Qatar and was prepared to make a stand.
Be brave. Joe would have known that he was going to take a battering for destroying the cash. Technically it’s an illegal act in the UK, so there was more than just his reputation at stake. But he was prepared to take the heat until the twist was revealed.
And, finally, be smart. By not shredding the cash, Joe immediately neutralised the arguments of the naysayers. Their case against him fell apart. There were no criticisms left to be made.
It’s extraordinary what three short videos over seven days can do. Though I can’t help suspect it might take a little more than this to restore David Beckham’s reputation.
*Joe’s stunt saw a 614% increase in Google searches for ‘Joe Lycett’ and 7,400 articles published over ten days. Coverage which would have cost a combined figure of £2.8m with a total potential reach of nearly 3 billion Impressions. Figures from Journey Further.