Watchdog bans Paddy Power ‘anti-loyalty’ ad starring Ryan Giggs’s brother
The advertising watchdog has banned a Paddy Power advert starring the brother of former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs over complaints it glamourised gambling.
The TV campaign, which promoted the betting firm’s rewards scheme, featured Rhodri Giggs in a pub and later driving a sports car.
Read more: Vodafone broadband advert banned by watchdog for misleading consumers
But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today said it had banned the advert for suggesting gambling was a way of achieving a good standard of living.
In the advert, Giggs stated he had “always lived a loyal life” by drinking in the same pub and going to the same gym, before stating he had become Paddy Power’s rewards club ambassador.
The advert made a string of references to allegations Ryan Giggs, who now manages the Welsh national team, had an affair with his brother’s wife and to the brothers’ subsequent falling out.
“The problem is, loyalty gets you nowhere. Live for rewards instead,” Rhodri stated in the advert.
Paddy Power argued the advert did not suggest Giggs’s life had been improved by gambling, but rather that he had benefited from acting as the firm’s ambassador.
But the ASA upheld the complaint and said the advert must not appear again in its current form.
“We considered the ad implied gambling was a way to achieve financial security and improved self-image, and we concluded the ad was irresponsible,” the ASA wrote in its ruling.
Read more: Mars, Mondelez and Kellogg’s hit with advert bans
Separately, the watchdog issued a ban on an advert posted to Tottenham Hotspur’s Twitter page, which featured an image of the team’s starting line-up against Borussia Dortmund alongside a promotion for bookmaker William Hill.
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1103003903707267072
The ASA banned the advert as it featured two people under the age of 25, Harry Winks and Davinson Sanchez, in breach of new rules about gambling adverts.