When it comes to permanent tattoos, people often spend a lot of time pondering the design, the meaning, and the potential consequences of what is essentially a lifelong commitment.
But for Coventry fan Adam Reeve, the decision seemed both bold and unconventional—and it’s sparked responses online. Adam via his X account, @adamreeve87 posted a picture of the tattoo. What looks like the iconic Hummel chevrons tattooed and colored on his forearm, almost entirely covering it—making it not so subtle.
Along with this picture was also a plea directly to Hummel, attempting to grab their attention, and he did so successfully. In the tweet he wrote, “@hummel1923 any chance of a sponsorship deal – or at least some shirts? I only wear a footy shirt at the football in all weathers – and I’m a Cov fan so you’ve got double advertising #pusb.” He asks for Coventry shirts as Hummel sponsors the English club since 2019.
This tongue-in-cheek plea for a potential sponsorship or a few freebies divided opinions among fans and even caught the attention of Hummel’s social media admin.
Hummel’s admin responded right back in a tweet that has now garnered over 240k views and over 2k likes. Unfortunately for Adam, while he did grab Hummel’s attention, the response was dismissive. Reposting Adam’s tweet, they commented: “smh people will do anything for a freebie.”
While the remark seemed to shut down any chance of Adam getting the shirts he’d cheekily asked for, it also ignited a few responses that threw in perspectives the admin, and maybe even Adam didn’t take into account.
Another responded to Hummel’s tweet saying, “Don’t look at it as a freebie, they definitely spent more on the tattoo art than they would if you see this as a marketing opportunity and go with it. Tried to be your ambassador too but admin is only seeing one side of the coin.”
In reality, this poses a solid fan engagement and sponsorship/ambassadorial opportunity that most brands have not done before. It is a bold move from a fan to get a brand tattooed on them, and support from Hummel in terms of a reward or benefits would have been taken positively by the football community.
Another user highlighted the cost of getting a tattoo of that size, offering two contrasting perspectives. On one hand, a tattoo is undeniably a significant investment—both financially and personally—which might suggest that Hummel missed an opportunity to support such a bold gesture from a fan. It could have been a chance to showcase the brand’s commitment to its loyal following.
On the other hand, some argue that if Adam could afford what appears to be a relatively expensive tattoo, they likely had the means to purchase the jerseys themselves. Instead of taking this unconventional route, they might have opted for a more straightforward way to sport Coventry’s kits.
While people sat and debated over whether the tattoo was a good investment or not, Adam later revealed that it was his wife who spotted that the tattoo was a Hummel logo and that he hadn’t made the correlation himself. He responded to his own tweet, posting a picture of One Direction member Liam Payne, who also has a similar tattoo on his forearm, quoting him as the inspiration for his tattoo.
He clearly took most of the opportunity by tweeting at Hummel, also using the chevrons as upward arrows to voice his support for Coventry and how he feels they are going to go up under Frank Lampard.
Does Adam go about changing the look of his tattoo? Or does he wait for Hummel to look at the flipside of the coin and hope they do a 180, turning this situation into a win-win?
