The Ladbrokes tweets from January and February this year featured images of tennis players Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Nick Kyrgios. The tweets were related to the Australian Open Men’s tournament. Two tweets included polls, and two mentioned Djokovic’s performance. The ASA challenged whether the tennis players featured in the ads would appeal to under-18s. This is the third time the ASA has taken action against Ladbrokes for ads targeting under-18s since July. Last month, Ladbrokes was criticized for featuring social media personality and boxer Jake Paul in a tweet. The following week, Ladbrokes faced scrutiny again for featuring Premier League managers in two promoted tweets.
Ladbrokes defended the tweets, claiming they were “editorial content.” They stated that they reviewed each player’s media profile, follower demographic, and sponsorship partnerships to ensure they did not appeal to under-18s. Ladbrokes also presented data on the age groups of the players’ Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers. This data showed that very few followers were under the age of 21. Ladbrokes also provided information on which age groups saw the tweets. Impressions ranged from 24,653 to 35,050, with only one impression in the 18-24 age bracket, which Ladbrokes considered an anomaly.
Despite Ladbrokes’ claims and the data presented, the ASA upheld the complaint. The ASA ruled that all featured tennis players are “star players” due to their success in the sport, making them high-risk for appealing to under-18s. Including them in the tweets breached the ASA’s CAP Code, which governs marketing in the UK. The specific sections breached were 16.1, 16.3, and 16.3.12. Although the ASA considered the data, they concluded that it did not override the players’ appeal to under-18s. The ASA instructed Ladbrokes to avoid featuring anyone who may appeal to under-18s in their advertising.
