Paddys calls in lawyers over Olympic ad debate
Operator challenging LOCOG following dispute over banner advert in London.
Paddy Power has called on its legal team to seek a court order against LOCOG, the organising body of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The operator had put a banner advert up ahead of this Friday’s opening ceremony in the British capital, proclaiming itself as the “Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London this year,” referring to an egg-and-spoon race in the French town of London.
LOCOG since ordered billboard advertising company JCDecaux to remove the ad. The request follows similar moves to ban adverts seen to have breached advertising guidelines around this summer’s Olympic games.
However a spokesman for Paddy Power, which entered the French egaming market in 2009 through a joint venture with Pari Mutuel Urbain, said: “We pride ourselves on listening to our customers and what we’ve heard loud and clear is that LOCOG have got their priorities upside-down.
“It’s a pity they didn’t put the same energy into the ticketing and security arrangements for the Games that they put into protecting their sponsorship revenue streams. We’re taking this fight to the High Court in the interest of our customers and of common sense,” he added.
The incident is not the first time this summer Paddy Power has fallen foul of advertising restrictions. Most recently it paid a 100,000 fine handed to footballer Nicklas Bendtner for displaying Paddy Power-branded underwear after scoring for Denmark at Euro 2012.
It was also forced to withdraw its Euro 2012 augmented reality Blippar app – allowing users to hover over banknotes to see an image of the Queen blowing a vuvuzela and saying “I’m so glad that bloody Jubilee is over, now let’s get the real party started. Come on England!” – following a request from the Bank of England.