ASA bans scratchcard ad after bingo complaint
A National Lottery TV ad for scratchcards has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for “unfairly” denigrating bingo halls.
The ad, created by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, showed a woman driving an electric mobility scooter past a bingo hall with a “closed” sign and padlock on the gates. The image is then “scratched out” to reveal the woman driving the scooter along a sunny beach front. A voiceover states: “Play the new Flamin’ Hot Bingo scratchcard from the National Lottery.”
The Bingo Association objected that the ad was misleading and denigratory because it implied that bingo clubs generally were closing and it is a dying industry. National Lottery operator Camelot argues that the ad was intended to highlight that a winner of a National Lottery scratchcard could “upgrade” aspects of their life and that while bingo clubs were not open 24 hours a day, you can buy scratchcards 24 hours a day from many outlets.
The ASA ruled that the images in the ad implied that bingo clubs in general are closing down.
• The ASA Council has also upheld Dyson’s complaint that an ad for rival Electrolux implied that its cleaner was better than a Dyson DC14, which was misleading.
The press campaign for an Electrolux Intensity vacuum cleaner featured text stating: ” The new ‘Intensity’ is so powerful, it surpasses the suction power of the leading upright in the UK by over 50percent.”
Dyson believed that the “leading upright in the UK” referred to the Dyson DC14 and challenged the claim.
The ASA told Electrolux not to make claims relating to the power of the Intensity unless it also held data that demonstrated the dust removal ability of the product.
