Ad description

A pre-roll ad appeared before YouTube videos and promoted Bet365.  The ad opened with Ray Winstone's head on a green background with the Bet365 logo in the top left-hand corner.  Ray stated "Oi! Don't you even think about pushing that skip button, I'm watching you" and then "They say good things come to those who wait".  A mobile phone screen graphic followed by the large on-screen text "CASH OUT" and "YOU'RE IN CONTROL" replaced Ray's head as he stated "I say good things come to those who cash out, with cash out you're in control.  So relax, just forget about the final whistle".  Smaller on-screen text stated www.gambleaware.co.uk 18+ ...".  Ray's head appeared again, followed by the large on-screen text "TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN" as he stated "Because sometimes you just got to take the money and run".  The ad concluded with a Bet365 logo graphic as Ray stated "Bet365, the world's favourite online sports betting company".

Issue

One complainant, who believed that the ad and in particular the exclamation "Oi! Don't you even think about pushing that skip button" was aggressive and threatening, challenged whether it was irresponsible.  

Response

Hillside (UK Sports) LP trading as Bet 365 said the ad was only used on YouTube and was a "TrueView Skippable" ad which meant the viewer could skip the advert after the first five seconds.  The fact the ad referred to the "skip" button at the start of the ad was intended to be a light-hearted and humorous way to encourage the viewer to watch the entire advert, while also drawing their attention to the fact that there was a "skip" button available.  That button enabled the viewer to avoid watching the ad in full should they not wish to do so.

They noted the complainant's concern regarding the exclamation "Oi! Don't you even think about pushing that button".  However, they highlighted that it was non-personalised, on a computer screen and was presented in a light-hearted and 'tongue in cheek' manner.  They did not believe that most viewers would interpret the claims as aggressive or threatening, and noted that if a viewer clicked on the "skip" button all that would happen would be that they did not see an ad they didn't want to view. They also highlighted that if a consumer continued to watch the ad they would realise that it went on to promote a "cash-out" feature which enabled a customer to close a bet, or part of a bet, early, if they thought the outcome of their bet could change.  That allowed them to minimise their losses or guarantee a profit, and so, rather than portraying gambling in the context of toughness, resilience or recklessness, promoted a feature which gave customers greater control. Finally, they said if a viewer was concerned about their gambling then they could take advantage of the skip button, and that if they continued to watch they would see a reference to "GambleAware", an organisation that offered a responsible gambling support and awareness programme.

YouTube said the ad was not in violation of their advertising policies and confirmed that they had not received any complaints regarding the ad directly.  They stated that, under the terms and conditions agreed to by advertisers, it remained an advertiser's responsibility to abide by applicable law and regulations, including the CAP Code.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted that the ad commenced abruptly with the exclamation of "Oi!", and that Ray Winstone directed viewers to watch the ad in its entirety.  We considered that most viewers would recognise Ray Winstone and associate him with a number of acting roles involving 'tough' or aggressive characters.  While we noted he directed viewers to "Don't … even think about pushing that skip button, I'm watching you", we considered consumers would understand that the ad played on Ray's 'tough' image and that the direction was a light-hearted and playful attempt to encourage viewers not to skip the ad.  We did not consider that most viewers would perceive the claims as a genuine threat.  In addition, we noted that the ad simply featured Ray presenting factual information regarding the cash-out facility and we did not consider that it associated the act of gambling with tough or reckless behaviour, or promoted those as positive traits within a gambling context.  For those reasons we concluded that the ad was not socially irresponsible.

We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules  16.1 16.1 Marketing communications for gambling must be socially responsible, with particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited.  and  16.3.9 16.3.9 portray gambling in a context of toughness or link it to resilience or recklessness  (Gambling), but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

16.1     16.3.9    


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