From Saturday 18 September, Tiger Beer's high-profile TVC featuring Rooney was absent from TV ad breaks during pan-regional broadcast of the Barclay's Premier League soccer.
A spokesperson for Asia Pacific Breweries confirmed the ads have been taken off the air, "as the World Cup season, for which the ad was produced for, is over," she said. The FIFA World Cup finals concluded on 11 July 2010.
"For your information, there is no change to APB's commercial arrangements with Wayne Rooney at this point in time," the spokespersonadded.
A source close to the brand said the TVC has been 'put on pause' until the current press furore dies down. "They have a two-year agreement with Wayne, so this doesn't mean the end of their relationship," he said.
'The Game Never Ends' TVC was crafted by Iris Singapore for the regional markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia to complement Tiger's other football initiatives including its broadcast sponsorship of the Barclay Premier League in Southeast Asia. The campaign, comprising both print and television commercials, kicked off from May 2010 during pre-World Cup fever.
Commenting back in April, Edmond Neo, director of group commercial at Asia Pacific Breweries, said, "Tiger is delighted and proud to be associating ourselves with Wayne Rooney, one of the world's best football players known and admired worldwide. Rooney has demonstrated passion for excellence and determination to outperform himself every time he plays a match. His resolute will for winning and success, an attitude which Tiger pursues and embraces, makes him the ideal football champion of the campaign. Being an inspiration, his pairing with Tiger will certainly light up the screen."
From this weekend, the Rooney TVC was replaced with an older ad in which the protagonists body-morph as they compete for the last bottle of Tiger Beer.
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