'Spread The Word'? Surely we can think of better....

Reading MAD are keen supporters of Reading Football Club and desperately want to see them playing Premiership in front of sell out crowds at the Madejski Stadium. But how is the club's irrelevant new 'Spread The Word' campaign going to help us achieve this?

For those of you not in the know, the club's latest brave intuitive new idea to boost attendances at the Madejski Stadium is to hand out suspiciously Evangelical car / window stickers which procliam 'Spread The Word'.

These are designed to encouragie the people of Berkshire to get behind the county's favourite football team.

Whilst Reading MAD believe giving out car stickers is a good way of boosting support for the club, we have to question the message the new stickers carry. The idea of spreading the word carries obvious religious overtones, based on the Evangelical desire to encourage others to follow God. How is this relevant to Reading FC?

Although football has been described as a religion, with the obsessives amongst us worshiping every Saturday afternoon, the idea does not seem to have any direct link with Reading FC.

For unlike Southampton ('the Saints'), Rangers, Celtic and even Manchester United, the Royals are in no way linked to the church. The 'Spread The Word' campaign is in no way linked with the club's history. For clubs that have a close link with religion, 'Spread The Word' could work. For Reading it cannot.

If the club was famous for having a large dedicated following, as Newcastle United and Manchester City are, again the 'Spread The Word' slogan could be justified. These clubs have supporters who are famous for being so dedicated to their team that their football club is almost their religion.

Yet the Reading Football Club 'Spread The Word' marketing slogan was thought up in a bid to boost attendances because we don't have the same committed fanbase, so one must question its relevance.

Instead we should have aimed for a catchy slogan that draws on Berkshire being the Royal County, or one that subtly refers to the bluechip companies of the Thames Valley.

Potential new supporters are from Berkshire and are likely to be linked with one of the local bluechip companies, they are unlikely to associate themselves with the club's quasi-religious message.

If Reading Football Club are to play Premiership football next season the people of Berkshire need to rally behind their club. The 'Spread The Word' slogan, with it's irrelevant religious overtones is not going to achieve this.

Reading MAD belive the new car stickers will suffer the same fate as cheerstixs....