Not entirely sure this is in the right section, but I guess it is connected to the general malaise in football with rampant commercialism etc. But paint "bombs" have been thrown at the banner above Busby's statue aimed at the AIG logo in the bottom corner....now some have been up in arms about defacing a memorial which i agree with but to be honest i think its a trouting disgrace that there's a logo on it in the first place, so i'm more towards the people who r trying to trout that bit up! what's everyone else's view?

Was talking about this last nite and two of my mates werent happy about it but although it might not be going the right way about it, at least their intentions are good and fighting for what they belive in.

In the end of the day its not really a tribute, its an advert from AIG.

I don't like the way the MEN covered it as well. They made out that it was an attack on the tribute.....er no it wasnt, it was an attack on AIG.

This post on redissue sums up how i feel about the situation:

This is so simple it isn't true.

Poster WITHOUT a logo = Tribute

Poster WITH logo = Advert

Look at any advertising hoarding you like. Remove the name of the company or the brand and it isn't an advert any more. It is just a poster. ADD the logo or brand and it is an advert.

It's not bleeding rocket science.

Pick any NIKE advert ever run and it will either have their swoosh on it, or the word NIKE. Think about it for a few moments then look at the "tribute" again.

If you don't get it then you're either brainwashed or irredeemably ignorant.

It's an advert, paid for by AIG to further their brand association with the history of United by using the babes as their marketing tool.

very good post turin99 and spot on.

The trouting stupid salmons even worded the calypso wrong, our club, the ticket office and our trouting owners are a trouting utter joke. :angry:

The people trying to blot out the AIG advert were completely 100% correct and the people of Manchester should be proud of them.

The Munich disaster rightly arrouses strong passions, and it is totally, totally inappropriate for AIG to cash in on this. Their logo has no place on the memorial whatsoever. It may be a small logo in physical size, but it it's impact is huge-It's claiming corporate ownership of the disaster and basically exploiting the dead to further their brand name.

Clearly the people who run AIG know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Simple as that.

I know the Babes had other jobs away from football but I'm pretty sure insurance sales for the American Insurance Group were not one of them.

Also how they distributing tickets to relatives is very worrying, they have managed to turn a very good plan for the day into an utter disgrace.

Only United

I'm not too sure that paint bombs were the right way to go about getting the logo removed but i don't condemn it either. It was an attack on the logo and only the logo. It keeps getting mentioned by some people that it was an attack on the actual memorial but that's simply not the case.

bloody sponsors, whatever next....sponsoring corners?

Again like many don't quite know if it was the right way to go about it. But from what i understand a lot of United fans were very angry at the AIG logo on the Munich Banner, and with an increasing amount of people unhappy with Modern Football and the advertising etc that goes with it for it to be put on the Munich Banner was a catalalyst for
people to complain and take a leap of out apathy as for them got to much. I know many United fans complained to United and AIG about this and got back the standard email on complaints. By doing this they are saying they don't care as the people aren't being listened to they turn to extremes. Again not sure if it was the right way or wrong way to handle it yet but can totally understand the frustrations behind it.

Does anyone have a photo?

Disgusting, makes me sick, I hate capitalism and adverts, and this a terrible example of it. I cant believe AIG did it. Indeed it is just to make them more in touch with United's history, but to my recollection started in 2006.

Well done to the people who chucked paint bombs, a visual display of dis-pleasure is often the only effectine one.

While I think that paintbombs are tactless and a bit disrespectful in their own right if those who threw them aren't directly connected to the event, I understand why they felt the need to, although it would have been better if they'd got a ladder up there and painted RIP over it or something.
If AIG wanted to do something positive about it, its pretty clear they should have just put it up without their name on it instead they replaced the chance to put up a memorial and get some nice headlines with a giant advert and they should really have seen that one coming. What's next, official memorial t-shirts for £20 a pop going into the Glazers' back pockets, or did I miss that one?

cov do that lmao

Sometimes these protests are the only way to make a voice known. No-one got hurt.

Its not as bad as i thought looking at the pic. Thats trout all!.

I see they have changed the banner to put the correct words to the calypso on then :rolleyes:

i think its disgusting, advertising is everywhere now! and in a lot of situations where its in the wrong place! even stewards have sponsers on there jackets! ours have floors-to-go.


whonows what next is going to be advertised/sponsered.

Jesus - even I know they're the wrong words to the calypso! Surely they'd make sure they had the words right before going to print?

And having AIG there says everything about United's money men.

Disgusting

What the correct words??

Is it... "if they're coming to your town make sure you get to that football ground"

Sounds great when the whole end gets going

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMYjcg4VWzU

Originally they had "...bunch of bouncing Babes..." - which is incorrect.

It's "...bunch of bouncing Busby Babes..." - has been corrected.

The latest:

So much for United not cashing in on it.

Absolutely scandalous that, and will wipe away any respect people might have had for the tribute.

Can't believe the cheeky salmons. And I can't believe United fans will put up with it..!!

And what pray tell would you suggest we do about it?

The whole things been turn into a huge circus by the media AND United (starting last year with the 50 years in Europe).

BHB, how are united cashing in exactly?
MUTV is free.
Souvenir on seat is free.
memorial service and car parking is free.

Them items are being sold by TOFFS, not United and after protests from fans Toffs have taken action on that.

MUTV is free for one day - to see the rest of "Munich Week" you have to sign up. It's a taster, a free view in hope people will sign up. They're cashing in on it.

AIG - why have that on the poster, and why defend it?

United are a disgrace.

And fair shout with the TOFFS thing.

This whole Munich thing has been turned into a circus.

"Self piteh citeh"

Maybe the thread title could be changed to

"Attacks on the AIG advertisement"

The AIG logo is part of the mural, so any attack on the logo is an attack on the mural.

No it isn't

Rubbish.

Those paint attacks were around the AIG logo - nothing touched the rest of it.

Absolute disgrace to have that logo on there, using the death of players to advertise. Disgusting.

It's like having the Hillsborough Memorial - "sponsored by Carlsberg, probably the best memorial in the world".

Just wouldn't happen. The people that run United sicken me, and it's nothing to do with me! How anyone can defend them!

That is utterly unbelievable. Does anyone involved inside football know common sense nowadays?

Under the circumstances I'm not surprised United fans are up in arms.

As soon as the AIG logo went up there was plenty of reds that contacted the club and the media regarding how unsuitable it was. I wrote to Gill, Phil Townsend (spokesperson), AIG, MEN, Oliver Holt at the Mirror and the Guardian. Got a standard response from United and nothing from anyone else.

The MEN are even selling their own tribute for £1 despite MEN being free in Manchester city center and 38p everywhere else. A number of fanzines have highlighted why they are seeking to profit from a disaster in which one of their own journalists died.

Also according to redissue it seems the Mirror Group have a tie up going on with AIG anyway who sponsor their Monday pull out which explains their lack of coverage of that and any anti-Glazer action that does go on and "Munich memorial attacked" headline they ran the following day.

Not very often i defend the club these days as mentioned already the items mentioned in one of the tabloids are sold through TOFFS and not United which the paper did not make clear at the time.

MUTV being free is a difficult one as in my opinion the contant advertising in the ground of full "Munich coverage" on MUTV is totally unnecessay but i have come to expect it from the current regime. However if they had not made the Memorial service free and made it only available to subscribers they would have been criticised as well so they were in a no win situation really on that front.