The African video-on-demand service and the angry French soccer star

Eventually it became clear that the volatile French star was not upset at all – it was all part of a marketing stunt by Showmax, the African-based video-streaming platform – to promote its subscription offering for the 2024-25 English Premier League season. 

The video-on-demand service operates in 44 African markets and provides an array of entertainment programming to subscribers, including its EPL soccer coverage which it provides in conjunction with the SuperSport channels that broadcast on DStv. 

According to a statement by Showmax, the brand activation drove significant results, with #EricCantona trending across the globe, and #ShowmaxPL and the campaign hashtag #ForEveryoneEverywhere trending on X for hours in South Africa and Kenya. 

Activation achieved extensive international PR coverage 

“The stunt drove a 72% increase in PR coverage week-on-week, drove more than [US$1.96-million] in PR value and was mentioned more than 27,000 times on social media. The stunt has also been covered on major football sites across the world including SPORTbible, Daily Mail and more,” says Yatish Narsi, Chief Marketing Officer for the MultiChoice Group. 

Well-known sportscaster and Showmax Premier League ambassador Robert Marawa, who was in on the prank, shared a behind-the-scenes clip of the filming of the stunt on his X profile, which was reshared many times by hyped fans who had tuned in for the Eric Cantona interview.  

Fans also took to X to express feelings of shock, surprise and then delight when it was revealed to be a marketing stunt. 

Narsi explains the rationale behind the brand activation: “The reason for the stunt is Showmax’s value proposition. To echo Cantona’s sentiments, ‘the revolution is here!’ The revolution is about having the Premier League on your phone and at an affordable price.”   

You can watch the full marketing stunt on YouTube here. Skip to 5:30, where it’s revealed that Cantona had colluded with Showmax.