Luis Suarez advert lands Paddy Power in trouble Bookmaker rebuked by watchdog for using football player under 25 in its advertising in breach of gamb

Luis Suarez advert lands Paddy Power in trouble
Bookmaker rebuked by watchdog for using football player under 25 in its advertising in breach of gambling regulations


reddit this
Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 January 2012 11.42 GMT
Article history



addy Power's Luis Suarez ad that was printed in the Sun. Photograph: Advertising Standards Authority
Bookmaker Paddy Power has been rebuked by the advertising watchdog after running a newspaper ad featuring controversial Liverpool footballer Luis Suarez, which it deemed was "socially irresponsible".

Paddy Power ran an ad featuring Suarez, who was recently given an eight-match ban and £40,000 fine for making racist comments about Manchester United's Patrice Evra, in the Sun in October.

The ad, which featured a picture of Suarez in an action shot wearing a football shirt, said: "Money-back if Suarez scores. Liverpool v Man Utd. If Suarez scores we'll refund losing bets."

The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad was socially irresponsible because Suarez was only 24 years old.

According to ASA regulations ads promoting gambling services should not feature anyone under 25 years old "gambling or playing a significant role".

Paddy Power and News International, the publisher of the Sun, said they did not believe the ad would have "particular appeal to young or vulnerable people, or encourage young people to gamble, on the basis of Luiz Suarez's age or image".

They added that he was pictured as a footballer, not in connection with the act of gambling, which meant he did not play a "significant" role in the ad.

The ASA said that because Suarez was pictured individually and was the focus of the ad "he was likely to be seen by consumers to be playing a significant role". The ASA said that the ad was in breach of its gambling advertising code.

"The ad must not appear again in its current form," said the ASA. "We told Paddy Power not to feature those who were under 25 years of age in their ads for gambling services if they were gambling or playing a significant role."

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.

larger | smaller
Media
Advertising Standards Authority · Advertising · The Sun · Newspapers & magazines · National newspapers · Newspapers · News International
Football
Luis Suárez · Manchester United
UK news
Gambling · Manchester
Sport
More news
Printa
GUARDIAN CO UK

AMISTOSO EN MALDONADO

.,messi