Ladbrokes Iron Man 3 advertisement prohibited over 'child appeal'

24 August 2016

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

The email, which featured an image from the film Iron Man 3, breached rules which state gambling ads need to not be most likely to appeal to children, the Advertising Standards Authority said.

Ladbrokes said all its marketing e-mails were sent out to registered consumers or those known to be over 18.

Most Iron Man fans are grownups, it stated.

The bookmaker argued this promotion code was supported by information on participation at Comic Con fan occasions and Facebook demographics for the Marvel brand name.

It likewise argued its advert was "adult-themed" and showed pop culture.

However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) supported the problem against the 4 May e-mail, saying that betting ads must not be likely to be of particular interest kids, specifically by reflecting or being related to youth culture.

The ASA stated it understood that the email was just sent to people aged 18 and over, but however, the restrictions still used.

It stated that as all Facebook users should state themselves to be a minimum of 13 years of ages, younger kids were therefore omitted from the sample used by Ladbrokes to support its stance.

The ASA said: "We considered those more youthful children were likely to be the primary audience for Iron Man action figures and associated product, which we understood were widely offered at toy sellers.

"We comprehended that Iron Man was a popular character that would interest lots of grownups however considered its comics nature, and the yohaig code accessibility of various related toys, implied it was likely to have specific appeal to children and young individuals.

"We therefore concluded that the ad breached the promotional code yohaig."

A Ladbrokes spokesman said: "We are mindful of the ASA ruling and are now considering our alternatives, consisting of the yohaig code possibility of asking for an independent review which belongs to the ASA appeals procedure."

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ASA - Advertising Standards Authority