Social Media News: Paddy Power’s Oscar Pistorius ad to be investigated
Source: londonlovesbusiness.com
The advertising watchdog has received around 50 complaints thus far, and they will surely take action against Paddy Power for turning the death of a young woman into a social satire. The adverts offer refunds for losing bets if the Paralympian is found not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The investigation will centre on whether the bookmakers have breached advertising rules around causing offence.
Intricacies aside, Paddy Power should be ashamed of what they have released, and it is not the first time either. In the past they have offended the transgender community, and even socially isolating a sub-section of society as ‘chavs’. It may be appropriate for the company to reconsider its marketing as what was once ‘edgy’ advertising is now just plain stupid. It goes further as the people involved in setting up the advertising campaign are probably unaware of what this trial means for the South African people. Men in South Africa are in the spotlight quite a bit due to the country having the highest rates of murder and rape in the world, and it is also well documented that there is a huge problem in the country of violence towards women.
The South African Medical Research Council indicate that 40 percent of men have admitted to hitting their partners, and even more disturbing is the fact that one-forth of men have raped a woman at some point in their lives. Maybe if Paddy Power had done their research then this mindless campaign would have hit the buffers, maybe not. The bookmaking giants are therefore profiting out of a global gender issue and not just this isolated incident. If companies continue to market serious issues such as the Oscar Pistorius trial, then society will not take things like domestic violence seriously.
Unfortunately Paddy Power are profiting out of certain individuals who want to gamble their money away over the death of a young woman. This is possibly the most disturbing revelation of all. The bookmakers are only doing what the buying public want, and the incentive is now there for people who want to place such a bet.
It will be interesting to see what the repercussions will be for Paddy Power, as one argument could justifiably see them punished severely, but from another point of view, they are only giving their customers what they want. The advert should not have been published in the newspapers, that is without question, but in a consumer driven industry where money talks, Paddy Power was just reeling customers in, on what will most likely be a profitable period for the company. Elsewhere the world awaits the verdict of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, which could alter a whole country's perception on domestic violence, and the impact it has on its victims.
Alex is an English Literature and Sociology undergraduate whose love for written word has led him to write about some obscure topics in his time. Currently a content writer at Social Media Frontiers, be sure to follow him @AlexSatSMF.
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Social Media News: Paddy Power’s Oscar Pistorius ad to be investigated
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Thursday, March 06, 2014
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Thursday, March 06, 2014
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