ASA Strikes Again

August 20, 2008 (InfoPowa News) — Wink Bingo.com's latest online bingo advertisement has incurred the displeasure of Britain's Advertising Standards Authority, which announced the banning of the material this week.
 
The advertisement, which was the work of Spacebar Media, featured a maternity nurse celebrating next to a trolley holding surgical equipment and a laptop, the screen of which read ‘Wink Bingo Winner', reports the marketing publication Brand Republic. Behind the nurse were a surprised man holding a teddy bear and the legs of a woman lying in a bed under a "Maternity Unit" sign, with the catchline: "Find the appropriate moment … "
 
The ad's creators claimed that the objective was to distinguish Wink Bingo from competitors by being "cheeky, irreverent, sassy and a bit naughty". The ad depicted a heightened fantasy situation, the props and wardrobe were not authentic and a midwife could be hiding behind a screen, the agency suggested in response to complaints that it portrayed gambling as taking precedence over professional commitments and promoted betting in the workplace.
 
The ASA was not having that, however, ruling: "We acknowledged that the intention of the ad was to portray a real-life situation in a humorous way, but considered that the ad nonetheless showed a health-care professional ignoring a woman giving birth in order to play bingo online."
 
The Authority also found that the slogan "Find the appropriate moment" could be interpreted as condoning gambling in the workplace.
 
In a seperate issue, the ASA rejected a complaint by Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster MP regarding Foxy Bingo's TV ad on its ‘GBP10 free offer'. Foster had challenged the use of the word ‘free,' claiming it was misleading and arguing that the ads did not make the conditions of the offer clear.