One Paddy Power ad banned, two cleared in ASA run-in

Betting firm Paddy Power has had yet another encounter with the ad watchdog over three separate ads, although the one-time enfant terrible of advertising has for once emerged victorious, after securing a 2-1 victory.

The first ad showed a young man using his phone to gamble on Paddy Power’s ‘Wonder Wheel’ game in a living room while family were present.

He briefly looked away from his screen to thank his partner’s mother for bringing him a drink, before he returned to looking at the game on his phone.

A voiceover said, “With Paddy Power’s Wonder Wheel you get a free spin with a chance to win cash prizes every single day”. The man’s partner asked him, “Do you think I will end up looking like my Mum?” He replied, “I hope so” while looking at his phone before appearing to realise what he had said was inappropriate.

A voiceover said,:“So no matter how badly you stuff it up, you’ll always get another chance with Paddy Power games.” He then continued to look at the game on his phone.

The advertisement received three complaints sparking an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority.

In response, Paddy Power argued that the ad implied a “commitment to family life”, since it portrayed the scene of a traditional family setting, with the man joining his girlfriend’s parents for Sunday lunch, and was intended to be “light-hearted”.

But the ASA ruled the ad “encouraged repetitive gambling” because it “portrayed gambling as taking priority in life, over family”.

Banning the spot, the watchdog told Paddy Power that its ads could not portray gambling as “taking priority in life, or portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible”.

However, Paddy Power had much better luck defending two separate radio ads.

The first featured a conversation between a father and his prospective son-in-law. The ad began with the father-in-law saying, “So you’re the man marrying my Olivia, eh?” The son-in-law said, ”Yeah.” The father-in-law then said, “Tell me, Cheltenham’s this week, do you ride?” and the son-in-law replied, “Er, only with your daughter, sir.” This exchange was followed by the sound of a glass smashing. A voice-over then said, “Blown your big chance?”

One complainant, who believed the ad was degrading to women, challenged whether the ad was offensive and harmful but the ASA disagreed, ruling it was simply portraying a close relationship between the father and daughter, and the anxiety of the son-in-law in an awkward situation.

A second radio ad for Paddy Power was also given the all-clear.

In the spot, a voice-over said: “Cheltenham 2022 is underway, and we’ve already seen some cracking contests in the Cotswolds. Not to mention the biggest influx of Irish since London in the 1980s. They’re here and they’re making a big deal about the greatest rivalry Britain’s never heard of. So as the British trainers aim to put the Irish trainers back in their little green horse boxes, here at Paddy Power we’re turning up the generosity every day at Cheltenham.”

Two complainants challenged whether the statement “biggest influx of Irish since London in the 1980s” was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.

One even believed this to be a reference to IRA attacks, while another believed this, alongside the statement, “put the Irish trainers back in their little green horse boxes” were derogatory references to Irish emigration.

But the ASA was not convinced. Its ruling stated: “We noted there were no direct references to the IRA in the ad, and in light of the general understanding that the ad was making reference to emigration and sporting rivalries, did not consider that listeners would interpret the ad to be making reference to IRA activities in the UK during that period.

“We therefore concluded the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”