A TV and video-on-demand ad for bookmaker Ladbrokes has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Seen on 17 December 2024, the TV ad featured a voice-over that stated, “This is a Ladbuck, the new way to get rewarded at Ladbrokes, and these are some of the 100 million Ladbucks that will be dropping weekly. Collect them on our free to play games and choose rewards like free spins, free bets and more.”
It continued: “Over 100 million Ladbucks dropping every single week. Plus you can even use them to play your favourite games for free in our Ladbucks arcade. Like Fishin Frenzy and Goldstrike. Start collecting at Ladbrokes.com.”
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Imagery on the ad showed coins with the initials Lb and copy that read: “100m LADBUCKS”, Free Bets” and “Free Spins”.
Appearing on 23 December 2024, the video-on-demand spot was shown on Channel 4 on Demand.
The ASA looked into the adverts after two complainants raised concerns that the ads may appeal to those under the age of 18 due to the use of language such as “Ladbucks”.
According to Ladbrokes, the works promoted their loyalty programme Ladbucks. It said it had chosen the name as it was a play on its name Ladbrokes. It added that the use of the term “bucks” also implied that it had value on the firm’s website.
The firm also highlighted that the term had no origins in youth culture and was not a currency used in any popular video game.
The ASA upheld the motion.
It said: “We concluded the name Ladbucks, when considered alongside the imagery and the application of the coin in the ads, was depicted in a manner which was similar to features in video games popular with children. We therefore considered the term in the ads was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s and breached the Code”.
It ruled that the works must not appear again in their complained-of form.
