Norwegian Air swaps Instagram logo after losing World Cup bet to British Airways
Norwegian Air kicked off the exchange on 8 July, asking: "Ready to risk your logo? If Norway wins, you have to switch to our logo on Instagram on Sunday. And vice versa. Deal?"
“Scared? Nor-way, mate.”
That was British Airways’ response when Norwegian Air challenged it to a World Cup logo bet on Instagram last week, and it has aged rather well (for BA, at least).
The wager was straightforward. Whichever airline’s national team lost the England vs Norway quarter-final in Miami on Saturday would swap its Instagram profile logo to the winner’s for a day.
Norwegian Air kicked off the exchange on 8 July, asking: “Ready to risk your logo? If Norway wins, you have to switch to our logo on Instagram on Sunday. And vice versa. Deal?”
British Airways initially replied: “Don’t make bets you can’t win.” Norwegian Air pushed back: “Does this mean you’re too scared?” BA fired back with the line that would come back to haunt its rival: “Scared? Nor-way, mate.”
On 10 July, BA formalised the deal: “Challenge accepted! Just don’t be surprised if we take the win at cruising altitude.”
England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in a match that twisted twice before settling. Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute, a lead that held until Jude Bellingham equalised in first-half stoppage time.
The winner came from Bellingham again, early in extra time, sending England through to the semi-finals and Norwegian Air to the drawing board.
Norway were playing in their first-ever World Cup quarter-final. Their last appearance at the tournament was 1998, and Erling Haaland had dragged them there with a performance against Brazil in the Round of 16 that made the football world sit up.
England, ranked fourth by FIFA, were always favourites, but Norway gave them ninety minutes of genuine trouble before the extra period broke them.
Norwegian Air honoured the bet. Its Instagram profile picture, which normally carries the airline’s red nose cone logo, was replaced with the British Airways speedmarque (though having to wear a rival’s colours on your own feed feels like its own form of punishment).
The exchange drew a flood of comments from football fans who, by their own admission, were more invested in the airlines’ wager than in the football itself.
Brand banter during major tournaments is hardly new, but the stakes here were concrete. A logo is a logo, and a public bet leaves nowhere to hide when you lose.
A bet’s a bet. Norwegian Air has not said how long the BA logo stays up on its Instagram profile.
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