Ladbrokes Slams Decision
to pull Funny TV Ads
 January
12 - Top-rated UK-based land and online sports betting and
gambling company, Ladbrokes, has protested against a ruling by
the country's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after it
ordered the company to pull a serious of tongue-in-cheek TV ads
due to a single complaint.
Online gambling is legal in the UK as is the advertising
thereof, and over the last couple of years many online gambling
firms have tried to outdo each other by producing cleverer and
funnier ads. However, whether they see the light of
day is often dependent on the ASA.
As Britain's official advertising 'watchdog' organisation, the
ASA is bound by its duty to investigate complaints made by the
general public regarding all advertising, but more often than
not online gambling ads feel the brunt. Ladbrokes is upset at
the ASA's decision because it acted on one complaint.
The ads in question poke fun at risk takers, delivering the
payoff 'Ladbrokes: Quench your thrill buds'. One of the ads is
based on a fictitious South African shark researcher who take
unnecessary risks while shark diving, including diving with
sausages attached to him, and dressing up as seal - that is until he is eventually eaten.
The ad's narrator says dryly, 'All we could bury was his
flipper.'
The fact that a single viewer couldn't see the humour in the
ad should not have been a reason to pull the entire
campaign, maintains Ladbrokes. However, in response to the
pulling of its ads, Ladbrokes ran a series of national print ads
featuring a sad-looking clown with the headline 'Missing - A
Funny Bone'.
To watch the pulled commercial now, click:
Ladbrokes Shark Ad.
To place a bet on cricket, rugby, golf or anything else, click:
Ladbrokes.
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