SEXY SWANK POKER AD BANNED
12 June 2009
ASA says linking sexual success with gambling
in a no-no
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against
a SwankPoker.com advertisement launched in an adult
magazine and intimating that sexual success and gambling
are linked, reports The Media Guardian.
Following
a complaint by the Remote Gambling Association, the ASA
considered an ad campaign that featured a woman cupping
her breasts under the strapline "Will you hold this pair
for me?" The ads were placed in an adult title called
Flush, and promised "hot action" to online gamblers
where "your favourite girl will play as you tell her
to".
A second promotion, an advertorial,
positioned Swank Poker as "the very best in poker action
coupled with the finest erotic entertainment that the
civilised world has to offer".
Yet another
advertorial in the campaign told readers that the female
online poker players featured in the service are "not
your alter egos" but "bring enough action to the Swank
tables and the next thing you know, she could be taking
care of your wildest fantasies". Rewards included
"serious erotic action" and "the opportunity to star in
a movie with them".
The RGA complained to the
Advertising Standards Authority that the ads linked
gambling to seduction and sexual success. The
Association also argued that the ads were not socially
responsible, particularly in relation to protecting
children and "other vulnerable persons" from being
exploited by gambling commercials.
Swank Poker
denied the allegations, saying that "instead of offering
caps and T-shirts" it offered rewards that were legally
sold "but which happened to be of an adult nature". The
company also said that it clearly advertised that its
services were for adults only.
The ASA ruled that
the ads did breach the advertising code for linking
gambling to sexual success and said they should not
appear again.
However, the watchdog did not
uphold the second complaint, that the ads could target
young and vulnerable people, because they appeared in a
magazine targeting 25- to 40-year-olds.
Swank
Poker is no stranger to controversy. Founded in
September 2008, it did not take long for the website,
officially owned by a BVI company called Charon
Communications, to find itself the subject of a WIPO
domain name dispute as the respondent. The complainant,
Violet Media Corporation of Poughkeepsie, New York
claimed an assault on its established adult brands with
the Swank prefix and won the case. The respondent was
represented by a Czech legal firm.
It is believed
that Charon may also be connected to Red Cherry
Poker.com, which has a similarly adult presentation and
content.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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