PokerStars.com ad busted by watchdog
Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday September 24 2008 09:59 BST
An ad campaign for website PokerStars.com has been criticised by the advertising watchdog for implying that gambling could make a person more confident and courageous.
A PokerStars.com poster campaign ran with the headline "play mind games" and featured world poker champion Daniel Negreanu holding a hockey stick with the line "Poker is a sport of courage, conviction and confidence".
Under the advertising code, ads are not allowed to link gambling with sexual success, an improved self-image or appeal to children or young people.
The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the reference to courage, conviction and confidence was irresponsible and "exploited the susceptibilities of children".
The complainant also argued that the use of the word "sport" would also appeal to young people and encourage them to gamble.
The ASA dismissed these complaints, but itself challenged whether the references to "courage, conviction and confidence" linked poker to toughness and resilience and implied that gambling could enhance those qualities.
In its defence, PokerStars.com said the ad quoted the poker champion's opinion about what was required to be successful and did not imply that a person would acquire those qualities by gambling.
It said the reference was meant to draw a distinction between poker, a game of individual skill, and completely chance-based gambling.
But the ASA said that "courage, conviction and confidence" were attributes that demonstrated mental toughness or resilience, and would be seen as "admirable qualities by the target audience of 21- to 44-year-old men".
"We also considered that the claim implied not only that those qualities were needed in order to play poker, but also that success at poker would therefore enhance those qualities," the ASA concluded. "Because of that we concluded that the ad breached the code".
Pokerstars.com ad: ASA challenged references to 'courage, conviction and confidence'