Teletubbies, The Office, Wout Weghorst and much more.
Summer 2023 will also be remembered for the death of Twitter, a social network on which Elon Musk, like a teenager trying to change his style in the school he has just moved to in the hope of not flaunting being a loser, decided to put an X above in the truest sense of the word. In a sense, the parable of Twitter/X goes hand in hand with that of one of the main arguments for which the platform is still used: the transfer market.
The era of dreams between real and imagined football has undergone a jolt due to the impoverishment of some major leagues such as Liga and Serie A, the arrogance with which the Premier League has managed to secure the most intriguing prospects of international football and the insertion to the limits of science fiction of Saudi Arabia, with its shameless wealth. Now for more important business one expects more a “Here We Go” by Fabrizio Romano that the officiality complete with a dedicated post from the big clubs, taking away a bit of magic and fun from their social media managers. But there are still exceptions among those who are able to give away gems that can go viral, especially among smaller clubs. And no one is reaching Burnley’s peak in content creation to herald new faces who have just moved to Lancashire.
Burnley were the most English side of the English side for years, anchoring at a kick&run almost anachronistic as her opponents increasingly welded their tactical identities to those of Klopp and Guardiola. With the bitter relegation of 2022, preceded by theexemption, after a decade, by Sean Dyche, even this last outpost of English football has surrendered; in fact, to recover the category, i Clarets they relied on another Guardiola heir, that Vincent Kompany for a decade captain of the City and tactically a disciple of Pep.
In the new category, their purchasing campaign has maintained humility, looking for the right profiles for the Belgian manager’s philosophy without overdoing it from an economic or strategic point of view, as Nottingham Forest and Fulham had done in the past. For a couple of seasons, however, i Clarets they began to give their best on social media, creating increasingly surreal videos to announce new purchases, finding inspiration in pop culture and the internet. Just think about the ad a tema “Friends” used to accommodate vitinho in the club, a the one on the WWE theme Of samuel bastien like he really was the undertaker or the one with the letters from “Stranger Things” to reveal the initials of Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
But the peaks of virality reached this summer seem unattainable. In a celebratory post on Linkedin, the club’s social media manager, Rebecca Stubbs, summed up Burnley’s communication strategy on social media over the last year, increasing interactions by 17 million and video views by 31 million. Numbers children of the gimmicks that drove football Twitter crazy in a particularly gray period, when they had to welcome a new footballer, almost to the point of overshadowing the athlete himself. But what were the best ads Burnley’s SMMs have tried to break the internet with?
Weghorstsauro
How to announce a very big centre-forward, perhaps too big for 1920s football? Putting him on the same level as an extinct creature from 65 million years ago. In finding the right reference between the newly arrived footballer and pop culture phenomenon, with Wout Weghorst Burnley did a great job.
Lyle Foster e Shrek
The cult club like Burnley could not fail to find nourishment in the use of the first animated masterpieces with computer graphics, capable of marking an era in the collective imagination of a generation. They have done this before with Toy Story to announce Armen Al Dakhilcon Monsters & Co. per Jacob Bruun Larsen and then taking one of the most hilarious scenes of Shrek to announce the South African striker Lyle Foster, earning Universal’s appreciative response. Among the many hilarious moments of the saga of the green ogre, the social theme of the Clarets has chosen the selection of the princesses implemented by the “Mirror of Brame”, replacing the princesses with eligible attackers. Foster gets the better of Messi and Cristiano. Great example of know how to take in giro taking himself in giro.
Hjalmar Ekdal in the Big Brother confessional
Burnley train at the Barnfield Training Centre, a facility that exudes both the elite efficiency of British football and the taste for the simple and quiet things typical of suburban life. On the occasion of the social gimmick to present the purchase of Hjalmar Ekdal, Albin’s younger brother, the training images become those of the British Big Brother house, with the newest arrival being called into the confessional. The announcement succeeded perfectly; now it remains only to figure out who was the last to leave the house.
Dara O’Shea by Scary Movie
It seems appropriate that Burnely inaugurated the 2023 transfer market under the sign of stupidity and WTF, proposing a meme scene before memes existed. Nothing elaborate, just enter the quiet sympathy of Dara O’Sheajust arrived from the WBA, in the most viral scene of the first Scary Movie. Probably the only commitment behind this announcement was to find a landline phone with a corded handset in 2023.
James Tafford arriva dal futuro
How to announce the purchase of a young goalkeeper who seems to be able to become a regular for the senior English national team within a few seasons in the very summer in which he became European champion with the under 21 team as protagonist? Inconveniencing Dr. Emmeth Brown and Marty McFly of course. Sequence maybe abusedbut no less fitting for this.
Brooklyn 99, i Backstreet Boys e Nathan Redmond
One of cold opening most successful in the world of modern American sitcoms becomes the perfect way to test the vocal chords of Nathan Redmond. With this video “I Want It That Way” returns to our heads like all the greats hit pop, as captivating as they are irritating. A pity that the former Southampton could not choose the number 5, occupied by Jordan Beyer, having to settle for 15.
Take away the emotion of Pam Beesly
Still a sitcom, but instead of one cold opening successful there is a season finale capable of melting our hearts and that of Jenna Fischer. Instead of Jim Halpert there is Wilson Odobert, French winger, born in 2004, formed in PSG but arrived from Troyes. With this announcement in Burnley they hope that his talent will win over the fans’ hearts exactly like Jim did with Pam’s in The Office, giving birth to a beautiful love story.
“Eh-oh Amdouni”
The bizarreness of this post lies behind the viral arc it has accomplished. 50 seconds absolutely cringewith the transfer market brought into the world of Teletubbies. The clip starts with the speaker asking “Who will sign with Burnley today?”, follows the process with the smiling sun-child and the presentation of the three characters who have enchanted millions of children in front of the screen. All this to bring up a video of Clever Amdouni on screen embedded in Tinky Winky’s belly and resulting “Eh-oh” reciprocated by the 22-year-old who has just arrived from Basel. Zeki seems frankly uncomfortable with his shy and awkward English, further framing the absurdity behind this social gimmick. In the comments a user asks the Admin if he has taken LSD, and ironically it seems like a plausible explanation for all of this.
Ramsey a Barbieland
Burnley’s SMMs couldn’t help but ride the exit of Barbie by Greta Gerwig at the cinema, proving careful in playing with the algorithm. And so the very young Aaron Ramsey, just arrived from Aston Villa, was able to interact with Margot Robbie in his own way, in the same way any mere mortal would interact with her, wrapping himself with words. This is the ultimate Burnley social masterpiece. There is both the use of the phenomenon of the moment to manipulate the algorithm and a curious gimmick capable of eliciting a smile and clicking on the repost icon. A further ironic layer to this video can be found in putting Aaron Ramsey, who has to fight in football speeches with his most famous namesake, on the same level as the Kens.