Online bingo TV adverts seem to be the route a lot of bingo sites are going down at the moment and you cannot seem to switch the television any more without being greeted with an online gaming advert whenever there is a commercial break. All of these adverts go through stringent checks before being allowed to air on our TV screens, but we have seen a few of them removed from viewing by the ASA over the past couple of months.

If a valid complaint is made by just one viewer about an advert it is the ASA’s job to investigate it fully and make sure that it does comply with the gaming advertisements regulations. Ladbrokes Bingo have just had their advert scrutinized by the ASA from just one complaint that was made by a viewer who said that their advert portrayed a woman who was depressed and lonely due to lack of connection with her husband and playing online bingo was a way for her to escaper her personal problems.

Ladbrokes Bingo responded, “The woman was escaping from a humorous situation (the man sniffing a motor) rather than from problems. They believed the ad was a light-hearted depiction of the differences between genders, rather than a portrayal of domestic strife.  Ladbrokes said their research showed that their target audience found the issue of gender divide funny and easy to relate to. They pointed out that asking someone to 'sniff' an engine was not normal everyday behaviour; they had used exaggerated advertising hyperbole to make the humour clear. Moreover, they maintained that research indicated that such a light-hearted approach was considered a good tonal-fit for bingo.

The ASA noted that the Ladbrokes Bingo advert featured an interaction between a man and a woman and that while he was interested in his engine parts, this did not however hold interest for the lady as her interest was to play online bingo whilst he continued to work on his engine. They came to the conclusion that no further action was required about the advert as they considered that the ad did no more that portray a leisure pursuit and it did not breach any code.

After watching the advert in question, I found it to be a well made advert that was actually quite humorous and I must say it most certainly was one of the better online bingo adverts that I have seen broadcast on the TV.