Paddy Power posts giant tweets in the skies over Ryder Cup (video)

1 Oct 2012

In a breathtaking display of nerve and social media nous Dublin-headquartered online betting giant Paddy Power took to the skies to broadcast fans’ Twitter tweets over the heads of golfers and fans at the Ryder Cup taking place at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, at the weekend.

Last week, American Captain Davis Love III stoked the flames for a fiery confrontation, stirring up US fans to deliver the loudest frenzy ever seen at the tournament.

Paddy Power responded at the weekend with an audacious plan to redress the balance for Team Europe, involving creating giant tweets in the sky, visible from more than 32 kilometres (20 miles), designed to rival any ground-level heckles.

Using the hashtag ‘goeurope’, a selection of tweets were ‘sky written’ by stunt pilots flying at 3,048 metres (10,000 feet) in the world’s first Twitter campaign of its kind.

Some 60 tweets were posted across the Illinois skies throughout the weekend’s golfing action.

Each individual character was a staggering 60 metres (200 feet) taller than the newly installed Shard skyscraper in London.

 

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com