"Why Is My Hairstyle on a Plane?"... Haaland Sues Airline Over Ponytail Ad
Haaland's Side: "Illegal Use of Appearance to Sell Flight Tickets"
Airline: "Regret That Support Has Led to a Lawsuit"
‘The monster striker’ Erling Haaland (Manchester City) has filed a lawsuit against a Norwegian airline that used his trademark ponytail hairstyle in an advertisement.
According to British media outlets such as the Daily Mail on the 1st (local time), Norwegian Air Shuttle, a Norwegian airline, posted an advertisement on social media during the World Cup featuring Haaland’s ponytail photoshopped onto the exterior of an airplane.
The advertisement included an image of Haaland with his ponytail superimposed on the aircraft, accompanied by the phrase "We've never felt more Norwegian." However, the post has since been deleted from the airline’s social media accounts.
Haaland’s side raised the issue, claiming the airline unlawfully used his distinctive appearance for commercial advertising aimed at selling flight tickets. It is pointed out that the ad violated Norwegian marketing law. Haaland’s lawyer, Thomas Hagen, stated, “This case is about the illegal use of Haaland’s distinctive appearance to sell flight tickets during the World Cup.”
On the other hand, the airline insists that it is difficult to understand the reasoning for the lawsuit. Airline spokesperson Katharina Solli said, “Like everyone else in Norway, we supported the national team during the summer,” adding, “The posts were created spontaneously, inspired by social media trends.” She continued, “It is regrettable that such support led to a lawsuit, and we hope to resolve the issue through reasonable dialogue so that we can continue to support sports heroes together.”
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Meanwhile, Haaland led Norway to the quarterfinals at the 2026 North-Central America World Cup, recording 7 goals and 1 assist. This marked Norway's first qualification for the World Cup finals in 28 years, since the 1998 France World Cup. However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing to England.
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