Wink Bingo Midwife TV Advert is Banned by ASA

Tagged as: Wink Bingo | by Hollie Sanders

It has been another week where we have seen two online bingo sites TV adverts come under the glare of the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency). Wink Bingo have just had one of their adverts banned by the ASA, whilst Foxy Bingo on the other hand have completely out foxed MP Don Foster, as their TV advert was given the all clear by the ASA!

The Wink Bingo advert that has just been banned was the one where a midwife was shown celebrating her Wink Bingo win, next to her was an array of surgical installments and in the background there was a shocked looking man and a lady lying on a bed holding a teddy bear. There was also a sign that said maternity unit and find the “appropriate moment”, which left you in no doubt that the lady on the trolley was in labour and her midwife was playing bingo on her laptop.

The issue against the advert was as follows –

1. portraying gambling as taking priority over professional commitments and

2. showing gambling in a working environment

Spacebar Media (Spacebar), on behalf of Daub Ltd, said “They wanted to differentiate Wink Bingo from its competitors by being irreverent, cheeky, sassy and a bit naughty. They said the ad, aimed at a largely female audience, did not portray the real world but showed exaggerated cartoon characters in an alternative slightly surreal, escapist world, which was a heightened fantasy situation similar to one that some of their players had experienced.”

The ASA fully investigated the Wink Bingo advert and they noted that the (CAP) code prohibited gaming ads that condoned or featured gambling in a workplace and those that portrayed gambling taking precedence over work commitments. The Wink Bingo advert breached the CAP code on three separate points, clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility), 57.4 (e) and 57.4 (t) (Gambling). The complaint of the Wink Bingo advert was upheld and they are not allowed to show the ad again in its current form. Daub was also advised to seek guidance from the (CAP) copy advice team before advertising on TV again.