Online bingo ad banned
An advert for William Hill's online bingo has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being 'socially irresponsible'.
The commercial shows a woman waiting eagerly for her husband to leave the house in the morning, so she can sneak off to play online bingo. In fact, so keen is she to get online, that she turns forward the hands of the clock to make him leave the house sooner.
Gambling adverts must stick to strict guidelines in which the gambling activity must not appeal to children or be seen to improve one's life or status. In this particular case, several complaints were made, stating that the character was obviously addicted to online gambling and was deceiving her partner about her bingo activities.
William Hill countered that this was merely a humorous look at a common situation, where a housewife can't wait for her husband to go to work, so she can get on with her day. However the ASA had the last word, claiming that the ad promotes gambling in a socially irresponsible way that could lead to emotional or financial harm. The slogan, "I get mine the minute he's left" implied a rather desperate urge to gamble.
Since the change in law allowed gambling adverts on UK TV, various companies have been testing the waters to determine exactly what is and isn't allowed.
Have you seen the ad? What do you think?
