Ad description
A poster ad for Wink Bingo, which appeared on the side of a bus, featured topless men smiling and pointing towards text stating "£35 FREE* Go on ... you know you want to".
Issue
The Gambling Reform & Society Perception Group (GRASP) challenged whether the use of semi-naked "athletic" men, in conjunction with the claim "Go on ... you know you want to", linked gambling to seduction and enhanced attractiveness.
Response
Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Ltd t/a WinkBingo.com (WinkBingo) said the five topless men who appeared in the WinkBingo posters were either models or personal trainers who performed in a popular west end show "Dream Idols" and that they were currently the face of the WinkBingo brand. They said that the strapline "Go on .... you know you want to" was a common English phrase and was placed directly underneath the "£35 Free" offer to which it referred and was an invitation to take part in the offer. They said the "Dream Idols" were shown pointing straight at the "£35 bonus" offer with the associated strapline and not vice versa and that it was the £35 bonus offer that was conjoined with the strapline "Go on ... you know you want to" and not the "Dream Idols" themselves. They said the ad could not therefore be said to suggest that there was a link between gambling and sexual success or enhanced attractiveness.
CBS said they had reviewed the ad and considered the images to be light hearted and not sexually suggestive and that it was therefore suitable for bus advertising.
Assessment
Not upheld
Whilst the ad featured an image of a group of topless men with athletic torsos, the ASA noted they were not positioned in a sexually suggestive or sexually provocative way but were shown smiling happily whilst pointing towards the text on the ad. Whilst we understood GRASP considered that, alongside the image, the call to action "Go on ... you know you want to" further implied a link between gambling and sexual success, we considered that within the context of the ad it would be understood by consumers merely as an encouragement by the ad and by the featured "Dream Idols" to take advantage of the £35 free offer. We considered that the ad did not directly or by implication create a link between gambling and seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness and therefore concluded that the ad did not breach the Code on those grounds.
We considered the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 16.3.8 16.3.8 link gambling to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action required.
