Paddy Power Advertisement Ban For Gambling Taking Priority
15 June 2022
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An advert for wagering company Paddy Power has actually been prohibited for encouraging recurring gambling, by showing it taking concern over family.
The advert features a woman asking her partner "Do you think I'll wind up appearing like my mum?".
He, distracted by a gambling app, replies "I hope so".
The company stated it accepted the choice from the marketing regulator and would consider the assistance it had been given.
in March 2022 across TV and online, the advertisement showed the male being in a living space next to his girlfriend, whilst using his phone to play one of the firm's betting games.
His girlfriend's mother brings the couple a drink, after which his sweetheart poses the question to which the guy responds without believing, while continuing to gaze at his phone. Following his sweetheart's incredulous stare, the man returns, ashamed, to playing the wagering game.
The advert's storyteller then mentions: "So no matter how severely you pack it up, you'll constantly get another opportunity with Paddy Power video games".
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The advertisement got 3 grievances from viewers, all of which were upheld. One plaintiff said the advertisement revealed the guy was so preoccupied with betting it had actually led him to make an "inappropriate remark".
The UK's marketing watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated the ad "motivated repeated gaming" since it "depicted gambling as taking priority in life, over household".
A Paddy Power representative told the BBC the company was "dedicated to accountable practice and it is always our intention to abide by the Advertising Codes. We accept the decision of the ASA and will consider its more comprehensive assistance moving forwards".
The complainants to the ASA believed that the male was depicted as letting betting take top priority over his domesticity and was "socially careless".
Paddy Power protected itself to the ASA, arguing that the ad implied a "commitment to family life", considering that it represented the scene of a traditional household setting, with the guy joining his girlfriend's moms and dads for Sunday lunch, and was intended to be "light-hearted".
The ASA informed Paddy Power that its adverts might not portray betting as "taking priority in life, or depict, excuse or motivate betting behaviour that was socially irresponsible", which the adverts might no longer be displayed in their present type.
Clearcast, the business accountable for clearing adverts before broadcast in the UK, stated that it accepted the ASA ruling, and will take the guidance in to factor to consider when clearing future gambling ads.
The judgment follows a broader campaign by the ASA to clamp down on socially irresponsible marketing and use harder guidelines for gambling marketing in specific.