Ladbrokes Iron Man 3 advertisement prohibited over 'child appeal'

24 August 2016

An advert for bookie Ladbrokes featuring Marvel superhero Iron Man has been prohibited over worries it would interest children.

The email, which featured an image from the yohaig code film Iron Man 3, breached rules which say betting advertisements should not be most likely to appeal to kids, the Advertising Standards Authority said.

Ladbrokes said all its promotional code yohaig emails were sent to registered customers or those understood to be over 18.

Most Iron Man fans are adults, it said.

The bookmaker argued this promotion code was supported by data on presence at Comic Con fan events and Facebook demographics for the Marvel brand name.

It also argued its advert was "adult-themed" and showed popular culture.

However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) maintained the grievance versus the 4 May email, saying that betting advertisements need to not be most likely to be of particular appeal to kids, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.

The ASA stated it understood that the e-mail was just sent out to individuals aged 18 and over, but however, the constraints still used.

It stated that as all Facebook users should declare themselves to be a minimum of 13 years old, more youthful children were for that reason left out from the sample utilized by Ladbrokes to support its position.

The ASA stated: "We considered those more youthful kids were most likely to be the primary audience for Iron Man action figures and related product, which we comprehended were widely readily available at toy merchants.

"We comprehended that Iron Man was a popular character that would interest lots of grownups but considered its comic book nature, and the accessibility of numerous associated toys, suggested it was likely to have specific attract children and youths.

"We therefore concluded that the ad breached the bet9ja promotion code yohaig."

A Ladbrokes representative stated: "We are aware of the ASA judgment and are now considering our choices, consisting of the possibility of requesting an independent evaluation which becomes part of the yohaig code ASA appeals process."

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ASA - Advertising Standards Authority