UK watchdog rejects complaints about Paddy Power and Sky Bet ads

The Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about the use of former footballers.

UK.- The UK Advertising Standards Authority has rejected complaints received about the use of former footballers Peter Crouch and Micah Richards in adverts for two sports betting brands. It had received complaints about Paddy Power television ads featuring Peter Crouch and a Sky Bet tweet featuring Micah Richards.

Crouch appeared in two TV ads broadcast in November while the Sky Bet promoted tweet was published in October 2022. In both cases, the ASA received two complaints.

The UK advertising code now prohibits the use of personalities that have strong appeal to minors, which generally includes footballers. However, the operators noted that the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP) advises that long-retired footballers more known as pundits have a low-risk of strong appeal to children.

Crouch is now 41 and retired from football in 2019. He last played for England in 2010 while Richards is 34 but last played in the Premier League in 2016. The ASA found that neither player had a strong social media presence among minors. Moreover, it concluded that Crouch “had an overwhelmingly adult commercial appeal” noting his beer brand with Brewdog. It found Richards’ media profile to also be “predominantly adult-orientated”.

As such, the ASA ruled that neither personality had strong appeal to minors and so the complaints were dismissed. It said: “From 1 October 2022, the CAP Code stated that marketing communications for gambling products must not be likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.

“They must not include a person or character whose example was likely to be followed by those aged under 18 years or who had strong appeal to those aged under 18. The ASA expected advertisers to provide evidence that they had identified what persons or characters were generally known for outside the context of an ad, and had used appropriate sources of data and information to assess their likely level of appeal to under-18s.”

Paddy Power’s collaboration with Crouch led to an elaborate initiative and the recording of rather extraordinary live opera album with Paul Potts and a 40-piece orchestra for Christmas.

Crouchy Conducts The Classics knocked Andrea Bocelli from the No 2 spot in the Classical Album charts after it was released on streaming sites, and it stayed in the top 10 for two weeks. Profits were donated to LGBT+ charity Stonewall to support work in Qatar. Crouch, Potts and ‘The Paddy Power Choir’’’ even performed a sold-out Wembley Arena gig.

Paddy Power recently received Superbrand status from the Centre of Brand Analysis as a result of its creative campaigns. The accolade is decided based on independent consumer surveys to distinguish the most outstanding brands.

Paddy Power’s marketing was praised for its complex, high-impact and high-coverage campaigns that reach beyond their immediate audiences.

Paddy Power spokesperson Rachael Kane said: “We’re not usually ones to blow our own trumpet, but when we found out we’d officially been awarded ‘Superbrand status’ we basically broke out the whole orchestra.

“An independent council of industry experts literally trawled through mountains of customer survey data to reach their conclusion that we were deserving of this status having put us toe-to-toe with other leading brands in our sphere. So the fact that our customers are responsible for helping us achieve this is a supreme badge of honour.”