ASA Rules in Favor of Coral’s Cheltenham Festival Advert
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint against a Coral advertisement displayed during the Cheltenham Festival.
Coral Cheltenham Festival advert found not to break ASA guidelines.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Adverts Appeared Near Two Schools
The ad featured a man dressed in horseracing attire looking through binoculars, accompanied by the text: “The head to toe tweeders [...] We’re here for it [...] Coral.” This advertisement appeared on a mobile digital billboard mounted on a van. The complaint centered on the ad's proximity to two schools, questioning its responsible placement.
Coral explained that every year during the highly successful Cheltenham Festival, they deploy eight mobile digital billboards, known as digivans, each day. During the event, these vans are positioned to face traffic heading towards the racecourse in the morning and then face traffic returning from the racecourse to the town center or station later in the day.
The operator had been instructed to ensure the digivans stayed at least 200 meters away from any schools, and a map was provided showing their locations relative to local schools. Coral also mentioned that the digivans operated from 9 am to 5 pm, and even if they arrived earlier, the ads were not turned on until after 9 am when children were already inside the schools.
Following the complaint, Coral re-briefed its media partners and agencies. Mobile Media Group confirmed that they had taken all necessary steps to ensure compliance, including keeping the digivans over 100 meters away and not in direct line of sight of a local primary school. They also noted that they had not received any complaints directly related to this campaign.
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Adverts Complied with CAP Code
The ASA concluded that the digivan locations were sufficiently distant from local schools and not in direct view. Additionally, the ads were activated only after 9am. This compliance adhered to the CAP Code, which states that no medium should be used to advertise gambling if more than 25% of its audience is under 18. The ASA found that appropriate measures were taken, requiring no further action.
In a related matter, two weeks ago, the ASA upheld a ruling against Geoff Banks concerning a free bet offer for the Scottish Grand National in April 2024.
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