It seems that the Carling Black Label Cup has decided to capitalise on the relationship between Natasha Thahane and Thembinkosi Lorch, as a way to promote the upcoming final.
Natasha Thahane took to Twitter on Tuesday, 27 July 2021, to promote the Carling Black Label Cup final. The star shared an image of her and friend, Thuli Phongolo, posing with the cup. Moreover, the two media personalities donned the Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs’ newly revealed team T-shirts. The post received polarised reactions, in light of the star’s newly confirmed relationship with Orlando Pirates star striker, Thembinkosi Lorch.
On Friday, 23 July 2021, following the unveiling of the new Orlando Pirates gear, which is a collaboration with Adidas, Thahane took to her Instagram Stories to showcase the T-shirt that she received. Thahane was an Orlando Pirates supporter even before dating Lorch. However, since the two confirmed their relationship, there has been a lot of hyper-sensitivity about her endorsement of the team.
For instance, on Sunday, 18 July 2021, following the loss of Kaizer Chiefs to Al Alhy during the CAF Confederation Cup Final, Thahane posted a video making fun of the loss of the team. Instead of lambasting the star over how unpatriotic the post was, in light of Chiefs technically representing the country, the comments suggested that the video was due to her relationship with Lorch.
Similarly, with her aforementioned post on the Carling Black Label Cup Final. Thahane received backlash not for her support for the team, however, she received backlash for dating Lorch. Moreover, the picture shared raised questions on whether Phongolo is also involved with one of the Kaizer Chiefs players, hence her feature in the promotional campaign.
It seems that the Carling Black Label Cup has opted to capitalise on the star power of the new couple, as a way to drive conversation about the final on social media. The strategy is smart as it only generates anticipation for the upcoming final.
See the post below.
https://twitter.com/Natasha_Thahane/status/1419946072454139908