ASA dismiss complaint against Ladbrokes

The UK advertising watchdog has dismissed a complaint that Ladbrokes had aimed a gambling ad at minors.

UK.- The Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed a complaint against an ad posted by Ladbrokes on Facebook in March.

The ad used an image from the film The Goonies to promote a discount, which led to complaints it was aiming at an underage audience.

The ASA has dismissed the complaint, deciding that The Goonies was more likely to appeal to people who were children when the film was released in 1985 than to current children.

The ad was a paid-for Facebook post seen on March 31, 2021. It stated “Play The Goonies Jpk at Ladbrokes. Get 30+ Free Spins on top of your £50…”

Below that was an image of a nautical map with superimposed text that stated “The Goonies”, along with images of golden doubloons and the “Jackpot King” logo.

Ladbrokes said the ad had been through its internal review process but had subsequently been removed from Facebook, associated ad campaigns, and its ad catalogue in response to the complaint.

Read more: ASA sanctions “irresponsible” Ladbrokes ad

It said the post had been targeted at males and females aged 18 years old and over. The Goonies would not be well known to children in 2021, the company said.

In its assessment, the ASA said: “It was not a recent or current film with which children were likely to be familiar. Nonetheless, we considered the content of the film was likely to have some appeal for them.

“However, given its popularity among adults, we did not consider that it was likely to appeal more to under-18s than over-18s. We noted that while the ad featured ‘The Goonies’ logo and typeface, it did not feature any characters or other imagery from the film.” 

To conclude, the ASA said: “We considered that the nautical map and golden doubloons featured in the ad were not colourful, cartoonish, or otherwise presented in a way that was likely to resonate with children, and were more likely to have general or adult appeal.”