Scotland leans on 5 Star tagline as unlikely T20 World Cup journey begins

As Scotland national cricket team landed in India for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, their social media team appeared to have packed a sense of humour along with the kit bags.

“Glad to have made it to India. Eat 5 Star. Do Nothing,” read a recent post, accompanied by a picture of players tucking into Cadbury 5 Star bars.

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It was a playful nod to 5 Star’s long-running ‘Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing’ tagline, and an even more clever reference to Scotland’s rather unusual route into the tournament.

Unlike most teams who battled through regional qualifiers, Scotland arrived in India via what could be called the replacement protocol. After the Bangladesh national cricket team withdrew citing security concerns around matches scheduled in India, the International Cricket Council turned to the next-highest ranked side that had not already qualified. That happened to be Scotland, ranked 14th in T20Is.

It was not the conventional road to a World Cup. Scotland had missed out on automatic qualification through the Europe regional qualifier, finishing behind Italy and the Netherlands. Yet its consistent performances in recent ICC events, including a near Super 8 berth in 2024 and a notable win over West Indies in 2022, bolstered its standing as the logical replacement to preserve competitive balance.

In that context, “Do Nothing” becomes less a self-own and more a sly acknowledgment of circumstance. Scotland did not exactly stroll in uninvited. It was next in line. Still, in the theatre of social media, the joke lands because it flirts with the idea that the team simply showed up and found a seat at cricket’s top table.

What makes the post more intriguing is its ambiguity. The image features players clearly consuming 5 Star bars, and the copy leans heavily on the brand’s tagline. Yet there is no disclosure indicating whether this is a paid collaboration, a cultural reference, or simply organic banter from the team’s social media desk.

afaqs! reached out to Cadbury 5 Star for clarification on whether the post is part of a formal brand association. The brand has confirmed that it is.

The timing is interesting. Cadbury 5 Star has been busy around Valentine’s Day with its latest counterculture push, positioning itself as an antidote to romantic theatrics and seasonal pressure. The brand has long built equity around opting out rather than leaning in, so Scotland’s “Do Nothing” arrival dovetails neatly with that worldview.

As for the cricket, Scotland finds itself in Group C alongside England, Italy, West Indies, and Nepal. The team begins its campaign tomorrow, stepping onto Indian soil not just as late entrants but as the team that, at least on Instagram, made idleness look like a strategy.

It remains to be seen how this collaboration pans out going forward. In a tournament where everyone is expected to do everything, Scotland has already made a statement by claiming it did nothing at all.