Kwiff, William Hill and Greentube ads censored by ASA
Adverts encouraged irresponsible gambling and were found to appeal to children, the watchdog said
TV ads from Kwiff, William Hill Vegas and Greentube have become the latest to be censored by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over social responsibility concerns.
An ad for sports betting provider Kwiff aired earlier this year, featured comments from customers and included the lines: “I’ve been Kwiffed many times”, “It’s quite a buzz actually”, “It’s was a 5/1 that got ‘kwiffed’ to 100/1”, “Wow”, “It’s like winning twice”.
A complaint questioned whether this language encouraged irresponsible gambling that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.
In its defence, Eaton Gate, the company behind Kwiff, said the advert was intended to show how real customers felt and did not present gambling irresponsibly. They said their advert featured an accurate representation of their typical customer base, which is predominantly male.
In its ruling the ASA noted this, but said the use of the word “buzz” was commonly associated with the experience of problem gambling and that the overall impression of the ad condoned irresponsible betting. Kwiff was ordered to stop showing the ad.
Ads from William Hill Vegas and Greentube were also censured by the ASA over the use of content which could appeal to individuals under the age of 18.
An advert for William Hill, which was featured in the New MarioKart 8 Trick app, received a complaint over its potential targetting at children. William Hill said they would never knowingly target children or people under the age of 18 and that their intention was always to advertise and market to consumers who were 18+.
The ASA, confirmed that while the New MarioKart 8 Trick wasn’t aimed at children exclusively, the ASA felt that its audience would likely have included under-18s and as such Hills should have taken this into account with its targeting. It ruled that the ad was targeted irresponsibly and must not be used again until sufficient controls are in place for its audience.
It was a similar story for the Greentube ad.