The star of the Walkers crisps adverts, Gary Lineker, has held talks with the brand about its relationship with the Sun newspaper, which has attacked him in recent weeks for his views on the refugee crisis.
Lineker said people would have to “wait and see” the outcome of the discussions. But, within hours, Walkers appeared to pour cold water on suggestions it would sever ties with the paper.
On Friday morning, the former footballer tweeted his support for a campaign that seeks to convince firms not to advertise with newspapers who “stir hostility”. Stop Funding Hate says the same firms that run adverts featuring messages of unity to make bumper profits over Christmas go on to spend that money on adverts in papers “with another message” – particularly in respect of foreigners and the refugee crisis.
In response to his support for that campaign, Lineker was asked if he would speak to Walkers about its own relationship with the Sun. The two have run campaigns together in the past.
James White (@JWhite_DM)@GaryLineker Will you be speaking to Walkers? https://t.co/Mo3VS4wejm
November 11, 2016
The broadcaster, who has fronted Walkers’ ads for __more than 20 years, said “already have”. The outcome? “Wait and see,” he tweeted.
But, on Friday evening, Walkers appeared to play down suggestions the talks with Lineker would sway its decision. A spokesperson said: “We have a very successful partnership with Gary Lineker and we will continue to do so. Our advertising approach is not determined by the editorial stances of individual newspapers.”
The former Leicester, Barcelona and Tottenham player was responding to tweets from the Daily Mail’s deputy sports editor, James White, who pointed out that Walkers has placed coupons in the Sun in the past.
Lineker has faced calls for him to be sacked from Match of the Day – notably by the Sun – since last month, when he described the treatment of young migrants arriving in the UK as “hideously racist”.
The paper had claimed the BBC was “under pressure to fire” the former footballer over his refugee comments but Lineker dismissed the suggestion. “Getting a bit of a spanking today, but things could be worse – Imagine, just for a second, being a refugee having to flee from your home,” he tweeted.