iGaming Business – The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has concluded that an advert campaign by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power featuring Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius breached rules and brought advertising into disrepute.
The campaign referred to the outcome of a trial in which Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013.
ASA said the advert drew a record 5,525 complaints, as reported by iGaming business.
The advert offered people the chance to bet on the outcome of the trial, with the advert featuring an offer for those that place a bet.
The advert appeared in the national press, as well as on Paddy Power’s website and social media feeds.
The advert stated: “IT’S OSCAR TIME. MONEY BACK IF HE WALKS. WE WILL REFUND ALL LOSING BETS ON THE OSCAR PISTORIUS TRIAL IF HE IS FOUND NOT GUILTY. PADDY POWER.”
The published advert featured a picture of Pistorius’s face on an Oscar statue, an image in relation to the Oscars film award ceremony that recently took place in the US.
The complaints issued referred to the trivialising a murder trial, the death of a women and also a disability in regards to the “if he walks” reference.
Paddy Power said the advert was a “one-off” publication in UK newspaper the Sun on Sunday and it had no plans to repeat it.
The bookmaker also said it is well known for providing betting as entertainment and although its marketing efforts do “push the boundaries” on occasion, it did not intend to cause offence.
