When two rival airlines agree to hand over their social media branding to the loser of a football
match, it sounds like a risky bet. In reality, British Airways and Norwegian may have pulled off one of
aviation's smartest real-time marketing plays of the year by capitalising on one of the biggest world
stages.
Ahead of England's FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Norway, the two carriers agreed that
whichever nation's team lost would temporarily replace its Instagram logo with that of its rival.
England's 2 to 1 win on Saturday 11 July meant Norwegian swapped its logo for British Airways' for
24 hours, but the real prize was the buzz the wager generated.
What began as playful banter soon snowballed into a global talking point. Other airlines joined the
conversation on social media, while millions followed the exchange as the friendly rivalry unfolded.
Instead of treating each other as fierce competitors, British Airways and Norwegian turned a major
sporting event into a shared marketing opportunity, using humour and goodwill to amplify both
brands and generate the kind of organic reach that traditional advertising struggles to buy.
Norwegian embraced the outcome, posting: "While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet
will forever live in all our hearts," before adding that it hoped England would "bring football home".
British Airways replied that while the rivalry lasted only 90 minutes, "the two carriers will remain
friends forever".
Keeping the momentum going, BA added: "Just like Haaland and Bellingham, we feel a blossoming
friendship between our two airlines," before offering return flights between London and Norway for
Norwegian's visiting social media team.
Norwegian also capitalised on the attention with a flash sale to its "Norwenglish" destinations,
telling followers: "Well played, England. Fancy a trip to Norway?"