Friday, April 25, 2008

First Online Casino AD Banned, For Irresposible Advertising

LONDON (Reuters) - A gambling advertisement that claimed online betting would improve sexual prowess and self esteem has become one of the first campaigns to be banned under tough new laws, following criticism from the advertising watchdog.

The national press campaign for online casino Paddy Power was irresponsible in linking gambling to "seduction, sexual success and enhanced attractiveness", the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled.

The advert, published in the Times, featured a dwarf in a limousine flanked by two beautiful women, smoking a cigar and holding up a champagne glass.

A strapline accompanying the advert said: "Who says you can't make money being short?"

The ASA, in a separate ruling, also criticized a gambling television advertisement campaign that featured "slapstick, juvenile humor that was likely to appeal to children".

The Intercasino campaign also featured dwarves, this time undertaking "Jackass-style" stunts including rolling down hills in dice outfits and sliding down bell-ropes dressed as fruit-machine cherries.

The watchdog has banned both campaigns in the UK -- the first since tough new gambling advertising laws were introduced last September.

Upholding a complaint against Paddy Power, the ASA criticized it for linking gambling with sexual success and an improved self-image.
Continue reading at Reuters.
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