The Coop is standing by a TV ad which urges customers to stay in at home with a beer and pizza deal rather than going to watch Euro 2024 football in the pub.
Drinkers enjoying big-screen football in the pub
In a letter to the company’s chief executive, the Campaign for Pubs says: “Publicans are frankly disgusted, as well as deeply angry, that the Co-op is running this advert.
“You and your management team must surely be aware of what a challenging time it is for pubs and publicans. Yet here you are, a supposedly ethical business, openly and deliberately undermining pubs and publicans’ livelihoods at this difficult time. It frankly beggars belief.”
The letter, signed by campaign chair and vice-chair, Paul Crossman and Dawn Hopkins, adds: “At the time when businesses in England should be uniting in support of the national football team, the Co-op
has instead cynically and shamelessly sought to attack another important business sector to try to boost your own profits from the tournament. It really goes against everything that the Co-op movement stands for.
“Who on Earth thought this was an acceptable thing to do? Who signed this off? It shows appalling judgement on the part of your marketing team and agencies, as well as a worrying lack of moral responsibility and ethical leadership.”
In a statement released to Beer Today, a Coop spokesperson said: “The ten-second advert is a light-hearted way of highlighting to our members and customers that, if they have made the choice to stay in to watch the football, we have a cracking pizza and beer deal they can purchase to enjoy in their homes, with the sole intention of providing great value on relevant products which customers tell us they want, especially at a time when the cost of living is high.”
This is not the Campaign for Pubs’ only beef with the Coop. In its letter it draws attention to circumstances when the supermarket chain has undertaken “predatory purchasing of viable, wanted pubs to turn them into Co-op convenience stores, against the wishes of communities, flagrantly ignoring the impact of the loss of the pub on that community, simply to increase the Co-op’s estate and profits”.
The full content of the Campaign for Pubs letter can be read here.
