Paddy Power (2017)
Paddy Power is an Irish bookmaker founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1988. The organization works a chain of authorized wagering shops in Ireland and the United Kingdom and operates Ireland's biggest phone wagering administration. It offers online sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino and web based betting. It merged with Betfair to create Paddy Power Betfair with Flutter Entertainment on 2 February 2016. [1]
Controversy
The betting company Paddy Power has been censored by the UK advertising watchdog for promoting a "racist" ad featuring World Champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. The advertisement utilized an image of a black boxer close to the title text "always bet on black" and ran in the London Evening Standard and Metro papers in front of Mr Mayweather's one-off comeback fight against UFC contender Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.
After receiving nine complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority stated that they considered that readers would be irritated by a challenge to always bet on the result of a boxing match based on the fighter's race. [2]
The headline was not intended to create a statement regarding Floyd Mayweather because Paddy Power actually endorsed Mayweather to win the match. However, ASA considered that readers would nevertheless be offended by an invitation to always bet on the outcome of a boxing match based on the boxer's race, and a message that the boxing match was a fight between two different races.
The Idea Behind the Ad
Paddy Power defended the ad and said 'Betting on Black' was a roulette gambling reference as the fight was going on in Las Vegas. They also said it was a reference in the movie Passenger 57 when Wesley Snipes said,
“Do you ever play roulette? Well, let me give you a word of advice: always bet on black.”
They recognized that the headline referred to Mayweather's race, but said that it was not used in a despective, distasteful or offensive manner and that the overall tone of the ad was light-hearted and humorous.
Equality and Human Rights Commission chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said:
"Paddy Power have an influential voice and they need to think through the implications of what they say before they say it." [3]
Reference
- ↑ “Paddy Power”. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
- ↑ Bond, David (Sep 20, 2017). “Paddy Power takes a blow over ‘racist’ Floyd Mayweather ad’”. The Financial Times. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
- ↑ Mann, Tanveer (Sep 20, 2017). “Advert banned for saying ‘always bet on black’ before Mayweather fight’”. Metro UK. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.