ASA Adjudication on Cashcade Ltd

Ad

A TV ad for online bingo featured an actor dressed as a fox wearing a suit. The fox was shown strutting down a street. As he walked past different types of shops, including a bakers, a tea shop and a launderette, women were shown leaving the shops to follow him. On-screen text stated "Terms and conditions apply. Over 18's [sic] only". The ad then showed the fox and the women boarding a double decker bus, which had the destination "Having Fun!". On-screen text stated "gambleaware.co.uk". The bus stopped at a house where there was a party going on. As the fox and the women went into the house a voice-over stated "C'mon join the Party at Foxy Bingo.com and get £10 free". Text on screen stated "Foxy Bingo.com £10 Free! £10 for game play. No deposit required".

Issue

One viewer challenged whether the 'Foxy' character would be likely to appeal to children.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Cashcade Ltd (Cashcade) said they did not believe the ad contained any material that could lead to the moral, social or psychological harm of children. They said animal characters were often used to advertise products or services marketed at adults. Cashcade argued that the fox used in the ad was not a youthful, cartoon character but was an older individual with a mature Northern accent. They said the fox carried a walking stick and wore a smart formal suit and white gloves in order represent an older gentleman, and to avoid the possibility of appealing to children. Cashcade submitted a document from their agency that detailed the changes that were made to the fox during the design process to make him a mature character.

Cashcade pointed out that other features of the ad had also been chosen to appeal to a mature audience. They said, for example, the song 'We Are Family' by Sister Sledge, which was a hit in 1979, had particular appeal for their target audience of women aged 35 years old and over. They said the average age of the cast featured in the ad was also over 35 years old. Cashcade said the ad clearly stated that Foxy Bingo was for "Over 18s only". Cashcade said they employed a media agency to plan when the ad would be broadcast, and that they had targeted channels that were likely to be of particular interest to their target audience.

Clearcast said they believed the Foxy character was suave and sophisticated and that his behaviour in the commercials was adult, aloof and not in any way appealing to children. They said the soundtrack and Foxy's behaviour was clearly aimed at older people who would appreciate the reference to John Travolta's walk in the film Saturday Night Fever. They said they did not think the ad reflected youth culture or was in any way associated with it.

Clearcast said, as with all bingo commercials, the ad was given a 'CY' restriction, which meant that it could not be transmitted in or adjacent to children's programmes or programmes likely to appeal to audiences below the age of 18.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted Cashcade and Clearcast's argument that the Foxy character had been designed in such a way as to represent an older adult figure in order to appeal to the target audience of women aged 35 years and over. We also noted that, because it promoted a gambling product, the ad had been given a scheduling restriction which prevented it being broadcast in or adjacent to children's programmes, or programmes commissioned for, principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences under the age of 18.

We understood from the document Cashcade submitted from their agency that Foxy's clothes had been purposely chosen to be dated, rather than trendy. We considered that the Foxy character was adult in its nature and appearance, rather than a 'cute' or youthful, cartoon-style character. We also considered that that was reinforced by the overall context of the ad which featured a cast representative of the target audience, and a soundtrack that would also appeal to that audience. Because of that, and because the appropriate scheduling restriction was in place, we concluded that the ad was unlikely to appeal to children.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 11.10.2 (b) (Rules for gambling advertisements) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)