Advertising Standards Authority rules commercial for Internet bingo depicts harmful behaviour
Tuesday 3rd June 2008
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned a television commercial from online bingo operator William Hill and stated that the advertisement should not be run again in its current form.
The advert in question sees a man being rushed out of the house early in the morning by a woman who has turned the clock forward to make him believe he is going to be late for work. The woman then states ‘I get mine the minute he's out the door’ before going upstairs in order to play online bingo courtesy of William Hill. She is subsequently seen winding the clock back to the true time while playing and states ‘doesn’t time fly’.
According to the Guardian newspaper, seven viewers objected to the commercial as harmful because they believed it depicted the woman as addicted to gambling and hiding this fact from her mate.
William Hill portrayed the advertisement as a humorous look at the everyday life of a housewife that wanted to get on with things once her husband left the home. The London-based firm stated that the woman moved the clock forward because the man was taking a long time to get ready and she wanted to get on with her day, which included a break to play bingo.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority disagreed and stated that by moving the clock forward in conjunction with the comment ‘I get mine the minute he’s out the door’, the advertisement implied that the woman was frantic to play and was either unable to wait or desired to keep her activities secret.
The watchdog found that the commercial condoned and depicted gambling behaviour that could lead to social, financial or emotional harm by implying that the woman was desperate to play but needed her husband to leave the house.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned a television commercial from online bingo operator William Hill and stated that the advertisement should not be run again in its current form.