… but an important one
Isn’t it amazing how sports, especially football, captivate the hearts of so many young fans? I remember my husband telling me about when he and his brothers were young, cheering for Manchester United (their dad’s team 😉) during exciting matches on TV.
But those famous football players can have an influence on young people, and we need to be careful if these stars are used to promote some services, like gambling for example.
The ASA, therefore, has some strict rules. They don’t want ads featuring sports stars who strongly appeal to those under 18, which makes sense.
So, when it comes to football, the ASA sees it as a high-risk area because of its popularity among the young. That’s why they’re unhappy about players from top British and European clubs featuring in gambling ads. But when it comes to other sports like boxing, which is more adult-oriented, this issue doesn’t arise.
Let me tell you about two recent cases that highlight this.
In one case, an ad featured FC Barcelona players Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
You may know how huge Barcelona is and these players are not only famous within the club but also in the Spanish national team, and they’re well-known even here in the UK.
They’ve played in major tournaments that received huge media coverage.
That’s why the ASA consider them high-risk and upheld the complaint against the ad.
On the flip side, we have the case of boxer Chris Eubank Jr.
Boxing, as we know, has a more adult fanbase and the data showed that most of the viewers for his matches were adults too.
Although Eubank Jr appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox with his dad, a popular show for all ages on Channel 4, he doesn’t have a huge following of under-18s on social media.
So, the ASA concluded that the ad for his upcoming match didn’t strongly appeal to young people.
The real difference is the pull of various sports for young people. Promoting a gambling product or service can be done legally, you just need to know the rules and apply them.
Or speak to someone that does. 😊