صحافة دولية » Paddy Power blind football ad to stay on screen
Independent
By Josie Clarke
An ad for bookmakers Paddy Power in which a cat is kicked across a football pitch by blind players will remain on screen despite more than 1,000 complaints, a watchdog said today.
The television ad opens with a shot of a kitbag marked Blind Wanderers FC and two teams of blindfolded men in the middle of a game. A cat is shown rascii117nning on to the pitch before a player takes a kick, followed by the soascii117nd of a thascii117d and a loascii117d meow.
A man in a sascii117it appears on the pitch and says: 'Paddy Power cant get Tiddles back, there i s nothing we can do aboascii117t that, bascii117t we can get yoascii117 yoascii117r money back with oascii117r money-back specials.'
The Advertising Standards Aascii117thority (ASA) said 1,089 viewers complained aboascii117t the ad in total, with 220 complaints that it was offensive to blind people and 1,070 claims it coascii117ld encoascii117rage or condone crascii117elty to animals. Some viewers complained aboascii117t both issascii117es.
Paddy Power said the ad featascii117red an action that was 'so ascii117nlikely that it was absascii117rd'.
They said they chose a blind football match as it enabled them to promote and create awareness of a lesser-known sport in the year in which the World Blind Football Championships were to take place.
The company provided a letter from the manager of the England Blind Football Team, who sascii117pported the ad s concept and stated that all the players featascii117red were actascii117al blind football players, many of whom had represented the national side.
It said the ad did not show the cat being kicked or sascii117ffering any violence or crascii117elty and was clearly and deliberately shown to be ascii117nharmed at the end of the item.
The ASA did not ascii117phold the complaints, saying it was not offensive or disrespectfascii117l in itself to create an ad referring to or involving people with a disability.
It said: 'We noted that the ad featascii117red and was sascii117pported by members of the England Blind Football Team, and showed blind people enjoying a game of football.
'We considered that the action in the ad woascii117ld be interpreted by most viewers as a hascii117moroascii117s depiction of a fictional sitascii117ation, with the hascii117moascii117r derived from the sascii117rreal and improbable cir*****stances, when an ascii117nforeseeable and accidental action occascii117rred.
'We considered it was ascii117nlikely to be seen by most viewers as malicioascii117s or to imply that blind people were likely to caascii117se harm to animals whilst playing football.
'We therefore conclascii117ded that the ad was ascii117nlikely to be seen as hascii117miliating, stigmatising or ascii117ndermining to blind people and was ascii117nlikely to caascii117se serioascii117s or widespread offence.'
By Josie Clarke
An ad for bookmakers Paddy Power in which a cat is kicked across a football pitch by blind players will remain on screen despite more than 1,000 complaints, a watchdog said today.
The television ad opens with a shot of a kitbag marked Blind Wanderers FC and two teams of blindfolded men in the middle of a game. A cat is shown rascii117nning on to the pitch before a player takes a kick, followed by the soascii117nd of a thascii117d and a loascii117d meow.
A man in a sascii117it appears on the pitch and says: 'Paddy Power cant get Tiddles back, there i s nothing we can do aboascii117t that, bascii117t we can get yoascii117 yoascii117r money back with oascii117r money-back specials.'
The Advertising Standards Aascii117thority (ASA) said 1,089 viewers complained aboascii117t the ad in total, with 220 complaints that it was offensive to blind people and 1,070 claims it coascii117ld encoascii117rage or condone crascii117elty to animals. Some viewers complained aboascii117t both issascii117es.
Paddy Power said the ad featascii117red an action that was 'so ascii117nlikely that it was absascii117rd'.
They said they chose a blind football match as it enabled them to promote and create awareness of a lesser-known sport in the year in which the World Blind Football Championships were to take place.
The company provided a letter from the manager of the England Blind Football Team, who sascii117pported the ad s concept and stated that all the players featascii117red were actascii117al blind football players, many of whom had represented the national side.
It said the ad did not show the cat being kicked or sascii117ffering any violence or crascii117elty and was clearly and deliberately shown to be ascii117nharmed at the end of the item.
The ASA did not ascii117phold the complaints, saying it was not offensive or disrespectfascii117l in itself to create an ad referring to or involving people with a disability.
It said: 'We noted that the ad featascii117red and was sascii117pported by members of the England Blind Football Team, and showed blind people enjoying a game of football.
'We considered that the action in the ad woascii117ld be interpreted by most viewers as a hascii117moroascii117s depiction of a fictional sitascii117ation, with the hascii117moascii117r derived from the sascii117rreal and improbable cir*****stances, when an ascii117nforeseeable and accidental action occascii117rred.
'We considered it was ascii117nlikely to be seen by most viewers as malicioascii117s or to imply that blind people were likely to caascii117se harm to animals whilst playing football.
'We therefore conclascii117ded that the ad was ascii117nlikely to be seen as hascii117miliating, stigmatising or ascii117ndermining to blind people and was ascii117nlikely to caascii117se serioascii117s or widespread offence.'
