AIK celebrate their haters with an award

AIK have always been a club that stir emotions. They are known for being The world’s most stylish football club and have previously created award-winning campaigns, such as Senior Mascots, The Eternity Ticket, Football Lowlights, and The Monolith. The connection and love between them and their supporters is strong, while the rest of the country holds significantly more negative feelings about them. The club attest that the critics' hateful comments increased during the recent season as AIK's success on the pitch failed to arise. That’s why they introduced The Golden Fuel Awards, a prize designed to honor the most mocking voices. «External opinions will never affect us negatively. On the contrary, the words of others are like fuel to the fire and will make us work harder than ever for the upcoming season. This applies to the club, the players, and the supporters. With The Golden Fuel Awards, we wanted to thank our haters for fueling our hunger, motivation, and unity», says Stina Jansson, Sales Manager at AIK.

The ten nominees were presented on Golden Fuel Awards and included journalists, supporters of rival teams, and a world-famous singer. AIK's supporters had ten days to vote for their favorite entries before the three contributions with the most votes advanced to the next stage, where a jury selected the ultimate winner. «Every year, we witness different awards where the best players, coaches, and teams are celebrated. With The Golden Fuel Awards, we used the established format to pay tribute to the unsung heroes: our haters», says Stina Jansson. As planned, the haters reacted to the campaign with more hatred. The club's social media channels were filled with negative comments, which benefited the campaign. AIK had booked advertising space in Sweden's largest evening newspaper ahead of the campaign. This space was used to highlight a selection of the opponent's comments, saying «Thank you for the fuel».