Law firm questions use of ex-footballers in World Cup marketing campaigns

World Cup advertising featuring retired footballers has been put under the spotlight by a leading UK law firm as the tournament in Qatar enters its second round of matches. Richard Bradley, partner at Poppleston Allen, has argued that the use of retired stars may be a grey area in terms of regulation based on the subjectivity of their popularity. The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) introduced new regulations on 1 October which banned companies from using prominent sports figures, celebrities and influencers who appeal to under-18s. The regulations also prevent companies from using imagery which may appeal to minors. While Bradley said gambling firms have taken note of the new regulations, with current sports stars being culled from advertising, they have now been replaced by retired players and/or managers. Bradley said: “Depending on the circumstances, this may or may not be acceptable under the recently introduced guidance. “The guidance makes clear that top footballers fall into the high-risk category and should not be used in advertising by gambling companies. “However, retired footballers fall into either the moderate-risk or low-risk categories and therefore there is some degree of subjectivity as to whether or not any given celebrity is considered to be of strong appeal to under-18s,” he added. Bradley went on to argue that the freshness of the regulations could lead to some operators falling foul of the changes. He added: “There’s a checklist of marketing steps that should be taken before using celebrities, but given how new the regulations are and the fact they are thus far untested, it’s possible a gambling company may make the wrong judgement call in what is the first major tournament since their introduction.” Paddy Power uses former Liverpool and England forward Peter Crouch across its marketing materials while Sam Allardyce is involved in a World Cup podcast series for William Hill. Because both aren’t actively involved in the game, they fall into the low and moderate-risk categories. Bradley concluded: “[Operators] could therefore be at risk of enforcement action from the ASA [Advertising Standards Authority], but any such enforcement action should make it clear to all parties what is and isn’t going to be considered acceptable in future.”