Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
A TV ad for Virgin games seen in December 2016 and January 2017 featured an actor who stated, “My name is Vladimir and I’m a vampire. A bored vampire. I mean like seriously when did eternal life get so tedious”. The next scene showed a female character who stated, “Do you ever wash up and do you have to have ketchup on everything?” The male character then said, “It’s not ketchup.” The next scene showed the male character at a train station playing roulette on his mobile phone and stated, “But recently I’ve learnt to live a little. I’ve discovered the thrill of Virgin games. Even the name’s perfect. Who would have thought it could make you feel so alive.” During this scene the small print at the bottom of the ad featured text that stated “… gambleaware.co.uk …”. The next scene showed him on a sun lounger by the pool whilst it was windy and rainy and stated, “I think I’m even getting a bit of a tan”.
The ad ended with a male voice-over stating, “Virgin games, live a little” which also appeared as on-screen text in the graphics along with “Play Responsibly”.
Issue
The ASA received four complaints from members of the public:
1. two complainants challenged whether the ad was socially irresponsible because it suggested gambling would make life more thrilling;
2. two complainants challenged whether the ad encouraged people in financial hardship to gamble; and
3. one complainant challenged whether the ad portrayed gambling as a light-hearted way to pass time when bored.
Response
1. Nozee Ltd t/a Virgin Games referred to the beginning of the ad, which featured the character “Vladimir” who stated that he was a “bored vampire”. Virgin Games believed that viewers would understand that this was because he had become overly accustomed to day-to-day activities having been undead for eternity.
Virgin Games stated there was no suggestion that he was anything other than slightly bored as he was shown in a stable mood throughout the ad and undertaking normal life routines, such as cleaning his teeth, commuting and watching TV on the sofa to pass the time. Furthermore, he was not shown as being depressed – as indicated by his cheeky, joking comment to the camera that the red sauce on his plate was “not ketchup”. Virgin Games further stated that Vladimir was not depicted as being lonely since he was having normal interactions with his female housemate about doing the chores.
Virgin Games believed that the overall meaning of the ad was that Vladimir was looking for new activities to try and indicated that he had now begun to “live a little” and had started playing on Virgin Games. The fact that he stated that he was only “living a little” illustrated that he was playing responsibly on Virgin Games and consequently was not an overly or irresponsibly thrilling activity. Virgin Games believed this was accentuated by the relatively monotone delivery of the statement, “live a little”, and the irony in the suggestion of an undead vampire being able to live at all. There was no suggestion that he was irresponsibly or overly thrilled by playing on Virgin Games – just that he was moderately enjoying playing as a normal diversion and method of entertainment.
Virgin Games further stated that the value of any bets placed or any winnings received were not shown and consequently, there was no suggestion that he was taking excessive risks or winning large amounts, which might otherwise have suggested that gambling was a thrilling activity. Furthermore, although he gently smiled whilst playing on Virgin Games he was not shown to be euphoric whilst playing or celebrating a win in any way, and his mood was no different to when he made the ketchup joke.
Virgin Games stated that there were no transformative depictions of Vladimir becoming more confident, admired or superior in any way from playing Virgin Games and that no scenes in the ad of other characters acting differently to Vladimir after he played on Virgin Games were shown.
Virgin Games further stated that the scene showing Vladimir on a sun lounger by the pool was to depict him at a British lido rather than on a holiday.
2. Virgin Games stated that Vladimir was deliberately shown living in a normal environment that indicated an average wealth level without depiction of financial hardship. In particular, the bathroom at the start of the ad was shown as, clean, light and spacious with a usual selection of toiletries; the living room was furnished in the manner of a person living with average wealth and included, for example, a medium sized flat screen TV; the house where Vladimir lived was shown in a state of good repair and tidiness generally, with the only possible exception being when Vladimir was watching TV, the curtains were drawn to play on the vampire theme, which viewers would understand; the clothes of both Vladimir and his house mate were normal clothes for an average person; and Vladimir was shown using public transport.
Virgin Games stated that at no point was Vladimir shown facing financial difficulties of any sort and the activities he undertook (playing on a smart phone, commuting on a train, watching television and conversing with a house mate) were all normal day-to-day activities.
Furthermore, the two scenes where Vladimir was shown playing on Virgin Games did not show him in particularly glamorous surroundings, or in any way indicated that Vladimir could now afford to do things that he couldn’t do before playing on Virgin Games.
Virgin Games further stated that there were no depictions of the amount Vladimir had betted and he was not shown winning or celebrating a win. Therefore, there was no suggestion of him: betting over the amount he could afford; gambling excessively or recklessly; being addicted to gambling; using gambling to fund his lifestyle; or otherwise prioritising gambling over his everyday life.
3. Virgin Games stated that the ad had referred to the Gamble Aware website, and featured the socially responsible message “Please Play Responsibly” at the end for at least 10% of the ad length.
Virgin Games stated that the ad portrayed gambling as a form of moderate entertainment, without being depicted in a socially irresponsible way. Furthermore, it did not show Vladimir as being excessively bored nor was his behaviour or portrayal changed throughout the ad as a result of playing on Virgin Games.
1. Clearcast stated that at an early stage they had a Copy Development meeting with Virgin Games as they both believed it was important to show a sense of responsibility and care. Copy Development discussed their views on the script with managers at Clearcast to ensure that they agreed with their views on the scripts for the campaign.
Clearcast felt that the statement “live a little” suggested gambling provided a little excitement into Vladimir the vampire’s life, rather than completely transforming it. They believed there was no problem with the ad showing him being a little bored and did not feel that it was about transformative behaviour, but about bringing a little fun into the vampire’s day. Furthermore, they stated that the line “live a little” was also a pun on the vampire being undead, which was made clear from the outset and that the joke was based on that.
Clearcast did not consider that it was irresponsible for an ad to show someone gambling for fun, provided they were not portrayed as being depressed or unhappy beforehand. They stated that although Vladimir was a little bored at the beginning of the ad, he was consistently shown as a jokey, smiley character after that scene. Furthermore, his demeanour had not changed after he had started gambling. Prior to playing on Virgin Games, he was shown having a laugh about his housemate’s comment on the ketchup on his plate. Furthermore, Vladimir was not depicted to be winning huge sums of money or in any way that changed his life and at the end of the ad, was shown having fun doing the extremely dull activity of sunbathing in bad weather.
Clearcast did not believe that there was a problem in suggesting gambling might give viewers a “thrill”, provided the gambler’s behaviour shown in the ad was not presented as being transformed. They stated that consumers could have a mild thrill from gambling and still be playing responsibly, and that the term “thrill” had been used in many other ads. Referring to the ad, Clearcast stated how Vladimir was not shown winning money or having his life turned around by playing Virgin Games, or gambling in an excessive or obsessional manner. They believed that this was portrayed when he was seen gambling on his phone at the station, where he did not look exhilarated but only exhibited signs of mild enjoyment and smiling at his phone screen.
2. Clearcast believed that the ad did not encourage viewers in financial hardship to gamble, as Vladimir was not depicted in such circumstances. They stated that he was sharing a house with a friend and was not in any way shown to be poor (or become rich) and although the comedic scene at the end showed him sunbathing in the rain, he was not portrayed to have won any money and because the weather was bad, it was clear that he was not on a luxury holiday abroad. Furthermore, Clearcast believed that this particular scene was more about the absurdity of a vampire seeking to get a tan.
Clearcast stated that no social or emotional harm was shown in the ad. Vladimir was fine at the start, but just bored and given that he lived with a friend illustrated that gambling was not a way for him to become more sociable. Furthermore, he was not shown as gaining any friends or popularity through gambling.
3. Clearcast stated that Vladimir had not rejected all other activities in order to gamble. They referred to when he mentioned that he had “eternal life” and that viewers from this point would understand that he was overly accustomed to life because he had tried a number of activities, and was now trying another because he was curious.
Clearcast did not see any problem with the ad showing gambling as being a bit of fun, so long as it was not done excessively, or portrayed as transforming someone’s life.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged that betting was a leisure activity involving an element of excitement and that it was reasonable for that to be depicted in an ad provided it did not encourage irresponsible gambling behaviour.
We noted that the ad featured a character named Vladimir and that it was based on how he lived his life as a vampire.
The beginning of the ad showed Vladimir brushing his teeth stating in a weary tone how he was a “bored vampire” and that “eternal life” had become “tedious”. Whilst saying this he appeared to be fed-up with brushing his teeth and threw the toothbrush into the container, but missed. We considered that viewers would understand from this scene that Vladimir was a vampire who had become bored of immortal life because he had experienced most things known to him.
The next scene showed Vladimir in his pyjamas, lying on a couch with his feet on the table watching a black and white horror film in the dark with the curtains drawn closed. Although the scene appeared to be gloomy we considered viewers would understand that it was continuing with the vampire theme, specifically how such fictional characters could not be exposed to daylight. This was particularly so when Vladimir’s housemate drew the curtain which frightened him to immediately protect his face from the sunshine with a cushion. Furthermore, contrary to the previous scene he was shown to be happy without having yet referred to Virgin Games. We noted that after his housemate asked whether he had to “have ketchup on everything”, he smiled and laughed saying “It’s not ketchup”.
The next scene was the first occasion Vladimir acknowledged Virgin Games and was shown at a train station playing roulette on his mobile phone and stated, “But recently I’ve learnt to live a little. I’ve discovered the thrill of Virgin games. Even the name’s perfect. Who would have thought it could make you feel so alive”. This indicated that Vladimir had just discovered Virgin Games and that online gambling was a new form of entertainment for him, making him feel thrilled by the whole experience. We noted that whilst Vladimir was playing roulette he was shown in a happy mood as he was smiling and his tone of voice sounded excited, which we considered was typical behaviour viewers would associate with gambling because of the thrill involved of potentially winning. We acknowledged that the scene did not show how much Vladimir had gambled, but this did not inevitably mean that he had not been betting recklessly, for instance with large amounts of money. However, we considered that by Vladimir saying “I’ve learnt to live a little” viewers would understand that he was playing on Virgin Games for his light amusement by staking mindful amounts of money, which reinforced the text in the final scene alerting viewers to “Play Responsibly”.
We further considered that viewers would also understand the references “I’ve learnt to live a little” and “make you feel so alive” as being humorous puns, which in the context of the vampire theme meant that although Vladimir was an undead being, he literally felt alive again by playing on Virgin Games.
The next scene showed Vladimir sitting on a sun lounger whilst on holiday and seemed to be playing on Virgin Games in a happy mood. We considered that given the weather was dull, windy and rainy, and along with him being alone (excluding the two cleaners) and saying how he thought he was getting a tan (despite being a vampire), viewers were likely to find it comical rather than associating gambling with a thrilling luxurious holiday.
Therefore, because we considered that the ad had not portrayed Vladimir to be gambling recklessly whilst he showed his excitement over playing on Virgin Games and that viewers would clearly understand the vampire comical theme, we concluded that it was not socially irresponsible.
On this point we investigated under BCAP Code 17.3.1 17.3.1 portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm (Gambling), but did not find it in breach.
2. Not upheld
We understood that two complainants believed that the ad encouraged people in financial hardship to gamble. We considered that this might have derived from the glum scene which showed Vladimir in his pyjamas whilst lying on a couch with his feet on the table watching a black and white film during the daytime with the curtains drawn closed. After this scene, he was then shown playing roulette on Virgin Games at a train station and whilst on holiday. However, we considered that viewers would understand that the glum scene referred to how Vladimir could not be exposed to daylight because he was a vampire and so was housebound during the day, rather than suggesting that he stayed at home due to financial hardship. We considered that the scenes following this indicated how he had recently discovered Virgin Games as a new form of entertainment and did not imply that he was able to afford to travel or go on holiday as a result of winning.
We concluded, therefore, that the ad did not encourage people in financial hardship to gamble.
On this point we investigated under BCAP Code rule 17.3.1 17.3.1 portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm (Gambling), but did not find it in breach.
3. Not upheld
We considered that one of the reasons consumers might gamble online was to pass some time whilst they were bored, and that this could be depicted in an ad provided it did not encourage reckless gambling behaviour.
As previously mentioned, we considered that the ad indicated to viewers that Vladimir had just discovered Virgin Games and that online gambling was a new form of entertainment for him, making him feel excited by the whole experience.
The first scene which showed Vladimir playing on Virgin Games was at the train station whilst he was waiting for a train, which we considered was a typical example of a mundane situation of when consumers might gamble online to pass some time. Furthermore, we also considered that the scene showing Vladimir sitting on a sun lounger whilst on holiday and appearing to be playing on Virgin Games was also a typical situation when consumers might gamble online to pass some time.
Whilst both scenes did not show how much Vladimir had gambled, we considered that given he had stated “I’ve learnt to live a little” along with him saying in the final scene (as the voice-over) “live a little”, viewers would understand that he was playing on Virgin Games for his light amusement by betting mindful amounts of money and reinforced the text “Play Responsibly” at the end of the ad. Furthermore, as previously mentioned we considered that viewers would also understand the references “I’ve learnt to live a little” and “make you feel so alive” as being humorous puns on the vampire being undead.
Therefore, because we considered that the ad did not portray Vladimir to be gambling recklessly whilst he was playing on Virgin Games to pass some time, we concluded that it was not socially irresponsible.
On this point we investigated under BCAP Code rule 17.3.1 17.3.1 portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm (Gambling), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary
