Avoiding Responsibility

I must admit that I enjoy reading conspiracy theories. Most of them are pretty amusing, but some make a lot more sense than the 'accepted' story. The JFK one is a classic example. I never really took an interest in the story, until I visited Dallas and stood in Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was assassinated (that's a great word btw - 'ass' 'ass'-inated. Ok, my childish mind). It's not until you stand there and try to reconstruct the physics of the 'accepted' story- Lee Harvey Oswald killing him - that you realise how utterly absurd the governments account is.

But today I think I discovered a new conspiracy, and this one could have global ramifications. I fear that by uncovering this, I may be placing myself i danger. If I don't post again for a month, assume I have been lazy. If I have posted for two months, assume that I have been 'dealt with'. Anyway, to the details.

For those that aren't aware of European history, here is a brief introduction. In 1685, James II (a Roman Catholic) took the throne of England, Ireland and Scotland. At this time, Europeans were slaughtering each other with great regularity, the rulers of the time using their religous affiliations as their battle cry. James wasn't very popular in some parts of his realm, and was particularly hated by those of the Protestant persuasion. On 30th June 1688, seven (Protestant) English Noblemen invited the (Protestant) Prince William of Orange (from the House of Orange-Nassau), a Dutchman, to invade England and take the crown from James.

William duly did so, and James fled to (largely Roman Catholic) Ireland. William pursued him, and on the July 12th 1690, William defeated James at the Battle of the Boyne. For the protagonists, this was a battle over power. For the Protestants in Ireland, this was a victory over Catholicism.

At the end of the 18th century, the Orange Order was established to commemorate (Protestant) William (of Orange)'s victory over (Catholic) James. The Orange Order is still around today, and their celebrations are a source of division amongst the communities of Ireland.

So what does this all have to do with conspiracies you ask? Well, here we go. Adidas is an Official Partner of the 2006 Football World Cup, being held in Germany. The advertising for their involvment is the '+10' campaign. You may have seen the ads, they are everywhere. The premise is that although you may have a star player, they alone won't win anything, they need a team around them. Hence the '+10'. The ads feature different star players form different countries, and I'll take a stab that the display of these ads is dependent upon where you are in the world. So ads featuring German star Michael Ballack will be shown in Germany, whereas ads with Brazillian ace Kaka will be shown in Brazil. They also have ads for England and Ireland (although Ireland didn't qualify for the World Cup :P ) Take a look at these stills from the animated online ads:

which features England and Chelsea star Frank Lampard

Now the Irish one

which resolves to feature Republic of Ireland (and Chelsea star) Damien Duff

Notice anything strange about those ads? Come on, you all did some geography when you where younger. Can't see it? Well, this is where your European history lesson becomes relevant.

The country of England is only one part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The other parts are Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In football, all of these entities compete seperately with their own teams. Of them, only England qualified for the World Cup. And yet, in the top image, it isn't just England that has been highlighted - it is the whole of the UK, as well as the Soverign Nation of the Republic of Ireland. For the Irish, this is particularly offensive - many people fought and died to be independant from the UK, and with the Paint Bucket tool of some graphic designer, they are now apparently part of it again.

But the indignity gets worse! Take a look a the third image: the part of the island of Ireland that has been highlighted, which Damien Duff is supposed to represent, is in fact Nothern Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland. I'm not sure how much a proud Irishman would like Duffy to have his citizenship changed from the Republic to the UK.

So with two glaring errors, one has to wonder - is this an unwitting mistake of an ill-educated graphic designer at an ad agency, or is there something more sinister at work? Let's check out a few details:

* Adidas, now part of the Adidas Soloman Group, was founded by a German, Adolf (Adi) Dassler (thus adidas) in the 1920's. Dassler is from a small town outside Nuremberg, which was once a very important city in the Holy Roman Empire. The Protestant warrior-king Gustavus II was beseiged in Nuremberg in 1632 during the Thirty Year War.

* The adidas campaign was devised by '180', an advertising agency based in The Netherlands. The Netherlands monarchy is (dramatic pause) The House of Orange-Nassau!

Could this be a plot by Protestant Orange groups to make the Republic of Ireland part of the United Kingdom once again? You scoff, but whats even more interesting is that this advertising campaign was released on the 10th October 2005, only 14 days after the Provisional IRA was deemed to have completed its decommissioning of its weapons (26th September 2005).

You make up your own minds!!