More guerilla marketing from Paddy Power Betfair

Paddy Power Betfair’s penchant for provocative, amusing and above all eye-catching marketing was in evidence again this week as Ireland prepared to receive its first Papal visit in decades.

Prompted by the results of a survey it commissioned which conveniently showed that 25 percent of Irish Catholics had not attended confession in over a decade, PPB set about constructing a giant, metres-high “drive through confessional facility” close to the Dublin public venue where the Pope will address the faithful.

Presented cleverly if somewhat irreverently as a huge confession box, the structure was touted as “providing an express lane to eternal salvation for Ireland’s lapsed Catholics,” enabling them to offload their accumulated sins quickly and conveniently by using the drive-thru’ facility, or as PPB put it: “Complete your contrition with your keys in the ignition”.

In a dig at the recently well-publicised reports of priestly misbehaviour in the church, PPB invited the “Catholic hierarchy” to “…take a spin through our mega drive-thru confession box while you’re here” if they have anything they would like to “get of their chests”.

When we went to press there had been no immediate reaction from the church, the public or the authorities to the project, but it would seem almost inevitable that there will be discussion and debate…and that’s the name of the game for the gambling group.

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