Paddy Power ads censured by ASA

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power’s latest promotional TV and radio efforts were clipped by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week.
Several complainants challenged whether a Paddy Power TV advert was misleading, believing that the small print contradicted the claim.  A similar complaint was leveled at the radio advert, believed misleading because the main claim was contradicted by the terms and conditions of the offer.
Both adverts centre on betting on the Champion League final match between Barcelona and Manchester United where the company undertook to refund losing bets if Barcelona won the match in normal time with a maximum refund of GBP100.
Paddy Power stated that it was not their intention for the ads to mislead believing the on-screen text clarified the offer and that the wording “We’ll refund losing bets” implied that Paddy Power would refund some, not all, losing bets.  The company explained that the ads had been focused on sports related channels and that the average listener/viewer of that channel would have been aware that it was commonplace for promotions made by betting companies to be subject to terms and conditions.
The ASA subsequently upheld the complaints on both the television and the radio advert.

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