ASA Scrutinise Paddy Power Advert
Paddy Power, the name behind Paddy Power Bingo are not unfamiliar with the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) as their gaming ads have come under their scrutiny before.
But this time around the complaints made against Paddy were not upheld, so you could say that they have been let of the gaming hook, especially when this particular advert received one of the highest number of complaints ever made against a gaming ad.
In total 1089 TV views objected to the Paddy Power advert…………..220 viewers thought that the ad was offensive to blind people and 1070 viewer thought that the ad was offensive and harmful, because it might encourage or condone cruelty to animals.
The Paddy Power advert that we are talking about was the one that showed a game of football being played, by two blind football teams where they used a ball with a bell in it so that they knew where it was. One player kicked the ball of the pitch and at that moment a cat (wearing a bell) run onto the pitch………….you can probably guess what happened next!
Well yes the player went to kick the cat with the bell on as he thought it was the football, this shot was not actually seen by viewers but you could ascertain what happened as you heard a loud (meow). The referee then dropped his whistle in shock and the players on the pitch just stood around. The ref then went over to the blind player (who supposedly) kicked the cat and patted him on the shoulder.
And he said………. “Paddy Power can’t get Tiddles back, there’s nothing we can do about that, but we can get you your money back with our money-back specials”. The ref then proceeded to hand the blind man some bank notes. The final voice over said “Check ‘em out before you bet at Paddy Power …” and the player taking the kick was shown again, in slow motion, and a faint meow was again heard in the background.
In response to the complaints about the advert Paddy Power Bingo said, “Paddy Power plc (Paddy Power) said they always aimed to offer entertaining and innovative campaigns and had taken numerous steps to try to ensure that no offence or harm was caused by the ad. They said the ad depicted a normal event but featured an action that was so unlikely that it was absurd and was a “worst nightmare” type scenario.”
The ASA said, “They acknowledged that it was not offensive or disrespectful in itself to create an ad referring to or involving people with a disability. We noted that the ad featured, and was supported by members of the England Blind Football Team, and showed blind people enjoying a game of football”………..plus a lot more besides, but in the end the ASA stated – “We investigated under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 6.1, 6.2, 6.4 and 6.6 (Harm and offence), but did not find it in breach.”
You can read the full Paddy Power adjudication by logging onto the ASA website.
Paddy Power has generally gone with humorous types of gaming ads rather than conforming to the norm, which is not always a bad thing.
