ASA Rules for Paddy Power in FIFA Chief Advert Complaint

Sep 10, 2015
ASA Rules for Paddy Power in FIFA Chief Advert Complaint
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has approved Paddy Power's advert telling FIFA chief Sepp Blatter to "F**k Off Already" as it does not violate rules regarding public offence. The advert was released earlier in the year during FIFA and Blatter's re-election campaign and was published in the Sport section of The Guardian newspaper. The ASA received one complaint regarding the ad and following its investigation it ruled: “We noted that the ad appeared in the Sport section of the Guardian, which we understood had an adult readership and frequently contained swear words. “We considered that readers of that section were likely to understand that the ad was intended to be a light hearted comment on the ongoing allegations of corruption within FIFA, and in particular the controversy surrounding Sepp Blatter's tenure as FIFA president. In that context, we considered the use of “F**K” was unlikely to cause offence to readers.”
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