Spot The Ball – the one-time craze where newspaper readers had to use their “skill and judgement” to guess where a missing football was in a match-day action photo – is coming back to Aberdeen.
This trip down memory lane comes courtesy of Aberdeen Inspired’s Paint The Town Tartan campaign to celebrate Scotland’s return to the World Cup.
It will see shops, food and drink, and entertainment businesses across the city centre taking part by hiding miniature footballs in their premises to be found by sharp-eyed customers.
And like the original Spot The Ball – a fixture in newspapers across the country from the 1960s to 1990s, played by thousands of people every week – this revived version comes with prizes to be won, such as in-store discounts and giveaways.
Left, Chelsea Hawthorne, head of customer experience, brand and partnerships for McCalls, and Kate Kenyon, who is overseeing Paint The Town Tartan for Aberdeen Inspired.
The top prize will be a “golden ball” £100 Aberdeen Gift Card – with £20 added to that value for every goal Scotland scores on their World Cup journey.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, hopes Spot The Ball will add a dash of excitement and a touch of nostalgia to the Paint The Town Tartan drive, which is already generating a lot of interest in the city.
“Those of a certain vintage – and I include myself in this – will have fond memories of Spot The Ball,” he said.
“I remember so clearly my mum poring over a photo from an Aberdeen game in the Evening Express, trying to figure out where that missing ball might have been. It was an art form, down to which way players were looking, which way they were moving and where their feet were.
“Sadly, mum never won Spot The Ball, but I know there will be plenty of winners in the Paint The Town Tartan version, from customers who find one of the miniature footballs to businesses who will see an increase in footfall and customers.”
Kate Kenyon, who is overseeing Paint The Town Tartan for Aberdeen Inspired said Spot The Ball will kick off on Thursday, June 11 – the same day as the start of the World Cup.
“Participating venues are invited to hide one our miniature footballs – about the size of a Subbuteo ball – somewhere in their premises for customers to discover. However, only one of those will be that Golden Ball to win an Aberdeen Gift Card. I know people will get a bit of a thrill out of trying to find that one elusive special ball during the campaign.
“It’s just to add a bit of fun to the excitement that is already building around Paint The Town Tartan. So far, we have had our member businesses flocking to pick up their ‘activation packs’ of our Aberdeen Forever tartan bunting and Scotland-themed balloons.”
Kate hopes as many businesses as possible will join in the Paint The Town Tartan campaign, creating their own colourful tartan and Scotland-themed displays to back the Scottish squad and turn the city centre into party central.
Already signed up to be part of Spot The Ball is McCalls Highlandwear on Bridge Street. Chelsea Hawthorne, head of customer experience, brand and partnerships for McCalls, loves the idea of the Paint The Town Tartan campaign.
“I think it’s fantastic, in that we are supporting the Scottish footballing community with the impending World Cup, but also to bring out that community vibe as a whole and to bring people together for a what will be an absolutely fantastic occasion, regardless of any result,” said Chelsea.
“So, put your metaphorical football boots on, get yourself into the city centre, come into McCalls, find the ball and help Paint The Town Tartan as much as possible.”
A list of venues participating in Spot The Ball will be available on the Aberdeen Website before it launches next Thursday.
Alex McLeish and Willie Miller
The Paint The Town Tartan campaign has been backed by Scotland and Dons legendary duo, Willie Miller and Alex McLeish, who recorded a special video message encouraging folk to join in, get into the city centre and support local businesses while celebrating Scotland returning to the World Cup.
Willie even referenced how that level of enthusiasm helped transform the city centre during the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen last summer.
Meanwhile, Adrian said: “We know that as the kick-off of Scotland’s first game against Haiti gets closer, the excitement, anticipation and hopes of Aberdeen – and the nation – will build and build.
“What more reason do we need to Paint The Town Tartan.”
Any Aberdeen Inspired levy payers wanting to be part of the Spot The Ball campaign should email kate.kenyon@aberdeeninspired.com by Tuesday, June 9.
For more information on Paint the Town Tartan visit the Aberdeen Inspired website.