Was Mo Salah's Selfie a Brand Stunt, and Does it Matter?

Image: x/@MoSalah

In this game, you've got to be so careful with fan culture.

I watched the Liverpool v Spurs match last weekend (up the reds!) and found the Salah selfie moment a real joy to witness as a 40 odd-year fan of the club.

Salah, hero of the season in many ways, wearing his trademark beaming smile, in front of thousands of fans, celebrating a league title together for the first time in 35 years... caught for prosperity on a Google Pixel phone (proud sponsor of Liverpool FC).

Now, whether this was a moment of pure magic or a carefully contrived piece of product placement, there is no doubt that the moment just worked beautifully. There are those that decry the moment as somewhat tainted by a potential brand partnership, but I think if it was, it was perfectly judged.

I love football culture, I'm a huge LFC fan, and that match, that moment, in many ways should have been absolutely sacred - a championship winning moment for fans where there is, you would think, absolutely no role for a brand.

And yet - again, IF it was staged in some way - Google succeeded in creating a moment that WAS additive to an experience, and that's the key. It added to the theatre of the moment for those watching, it added to the experience of the fans behind Salah, and it didn't detract from what was a sensational moment for LFC fans.

It reminded me of the famous Dave X Alex moment at Glastonbury in 2019 where there was some talk of it being scripted and part of a PSG shirt launch campaign.

Having watched it and loved it, my heart sank when I heard it could have all been a stunt (I don't think it was by the way), but that shows the fine line a brand has to walk when entering into a culture, and also by the way how careful an artist (or footballer) needs to be when weighing up being part of an activation.

The fans will ultimately decide whether it was a good idea or not.