Miami FC have their debut home opener coming up this weekend at FIU Stadium on Florida International University’s campus. And by the looks of it, they have opted for a marketing campaign that is essentially: “Look, hot college girls!”
In the week leading up to their home opener, Miami FC have unabashedly used young women, to market the team. While they haven’t exclusively featured their female staff, the difference in tone is rather blatant.
?⚽️ join these babes on Saturday! Tickets still available at https://t.co/9e8m9EIM1R #VamosMiami #WeAreMiamiFC pic.twitter.com/v2rkU9csHN
— The Miami FC (@TheMiamiFC) April 7, 2016
The video above is frankly creepy. It’s awkward, staged, and the emoji framing is so blatant about sexualizing them. “…join these babes.” Seriously?
In another tweet, they use two other women in the way bars use “ladies night” specials.” Girls will be at the game, men of Miami-Dade take note!
They will be there Saturday, will you? #makehistorymia #homeopener #maluma #theygetit pic.twitter.com/TY6VJwQXoQ
— The Miami FC (@TheMiamiFC) April 6, 2016
Can you imagine them tweeting out two men, standing close, one with his arm around the other’s waist? “Come join these guys and have fun!” No, you can’t.
This seems to basically be a South Florida thing, calling to mind last year’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers watch parties, which were held at noted fine dining establishment The Tilted Kilt. Setting aside, just for a moment the obvious problem with this line of advertising being a bit out of step with the twenty-first century and the execution being more than a little creepy, there’s also the basic fact that it doesn’t appear to actually work. Fort Lauderdale’s biggest attendances in the past two years have been the result of going all in on marketing (click here to know the conversion rate optimization status of your campaign) games against the Cosmos, flogging Raúl and the Pelé brand as if it were their own. People spend their money because they want to watch soccer games, not their fellow fans, not women on the team staff. Falling back on the “Girls! Girls! Girls” advertising playbook is lazy, ineffective, and embarrassing.
Thanks for classing up the league, guys.
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