There are many TV commercials, movies and video games that raise an eye brow or two in regard to acceptable and not. It’s questionable and a constant area of concern about what we allow the freely fly ‘through the airways’ and into the publics eyes and ears.
That is why online gaming company Ladbrokes has been singled out in regard to its television commercials running to promote their online casino by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA received a complaint about the commercial because of the fact that it portrays daredevils leaping for their death and has such banned the commercials for the airways. The TV commercials have also said to portray gambling as a negative, tough, reckless and excessive habit.
The commercials in question portray two scenarios in which a diver straps bacon and sausage to his seal costume and leaps into shark-infested water and another where a skydiver jumps out of a plane using an empty wrapper as a parachute. Both clips end with the tag line “If only he’d seen ladbrokecasino.com it would have quenched his thrill buds.”
Ladbrokes reacted to the complaint by retorting that the commercials were meant to be fun and light-hearted. Ladbrokes said they would also be appealing the breach. Managing Director of Ladbrokes Remote Betting and Gaming, John O’Reilly also commented on the breach by voicing the full support Ladbrokes gives to the code of practice regarding gambling advertising but also noted that the ruling demonstrated an example of political correctness going too far. O’Reilly also said Ladbrokes believes the ads to be compliant, humorous and fictional situations of which no one would want to mimic.
