William Hill receives ban for "sexually suggestive" Tinder ad

[The Buzz]

A William Hill advertisement that invited users of dating app Tinder to bet their way out of the “friend zone” has been banned for linking gambling to sexual success after The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules that it breached "the code governing the promotion of gambling."

The advert read: “Stuck in the friend zone? You won’t be for much longer if you use this Cheltenham free bet offer” and included a link to download the company’s smartphone app. Buzzy wouldn't know first-hand, of course, but apparently being “stuck in the friend zone” is a term used to describe a situation in which one person wants to start a relationship with someone who prefers to keep things platonic.

According to the UK code of non-broadcast advertising, which is overseen by the ASA, gambling adverts must not “link gambling to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness."

According to ASA this was William Hill's response:

WHG (International) Ltd t/a William Hill said that customers were known to be savvy and “shop around” for the best odds/offers, using the William Hill website and odds as a comparison to choose the best deal. Should the customer sign up, they would enter into a relationship with William Hill, where they would have access to all areas of the site and the services they offered.

They said that the promotion was supposed to relate the offer to the nature of the business they were advertising on (Tinder). Upon reflection, they agreed that it had the potential to be interpreted differently, but it was not their intention to link gambling to sexual success. They had removed the ad and were in the process of conducting a full review of existing content on the platform.
Tinder said they initially reviewed the ad to ensure its content was not socially irresponsible, offensive or targeting minors, and having passed their initial screening, published it on their platform.

The ad was no longer live and they had not received any other complaints about it.

The ASA responded with:

“Upon reflection, [William Hill] agreed that it had the potential to be interpreted differently, but it was not their intention to link gambling to sexual success,” the ASA said. “They had removed the ad and were in the process of conducting a full review of existing content on the platform.”

Tinder told the ASA it had reviewed the advert to judge whether it was socially irresponsible, offensive or aimed at minors and did not find that it was.

The ASA said it upheld the complaint because it “suggested that those who gambled would be more likely to develop a friendship into a sexual relationship and therefore linked gambling with sexual success.”

Read more here: https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/whg--...19-563720.html

[universal4]

Does this mean the majority of porn portals will also have to drop advertising for all UK properties?

Rick
Universal4

[Triple7]

Does this mean the majority of porn portals will also have to drop advertising for all UK properties?

Rick
Universal4

If the ads are visually or textually linking gambling to sexual success, yes.

I think WH just tried to make a funny ad, which seems to be prohibited nowadays in the UK.

[PROFRBcom]

Every time I look the ASA is just up everyone's ass sideways. Don't know how you guys work in that market

[Sherlock]

We do not work. We just stare at it.
Recently I sold my UK banners for 3.5 Eur/day. My ROI went through the roof.

[Cash Bonus]

That's nonsense. I really can't see anything sexually suggestive about their gambling advert. It could be interpreted in different ways by a lot of people.

[Moonlight Cat]

Does this mean the majority of porn portals will also have to drop advertising for all UK properties?

As person who buy media advertising on regular base, i may confirm, that i am permanent see Bet365 and other UK brands banners on adult sites, file sharing hostings like depositfiles, and other sites like this. Nobody changes.

[sweetbet]

If a person needs a free bet offer to visit a casino, then why would that make them attractive to anyone? LOL

[FreeSpins]

I don't feel sorry for WH, however ASA decissions are getting more and more ridiculous...