Paddy Power releases statement on decision to suspend ‘Lady’s Day’ ad from broadcasting in the UK
Paddy Power has today released a statement on the decision by broadcasters to suspend its ‘Lady’s Day’ ad, inviting viewers to ‘spot the stallions from the mares’.
The bookmaker said it was ‘disappointed’ by the decision. It’s new ad, CHAVS, is set to be unveiled this afternoon.
The full statement read: “We were surprised and disappointed to learn today of the decision by the British TV advertising regulator along with /news/2012/02/21/espn-drops-paddy-power-s-transgendered-ladies-advert">television broadcasters
“This decision is especially frustrating given that the commercial was already pre-approved by British television advertising clearance body Clearcast, just one week ago, who then considered the humour in the advert, while not to everyone’s taste, fell short of causing offence.
“Additionally, we reached out to leading UK transgender group, The Beaumont Society, for feedback on the script.
“The Beaumont Society stated there was “nothing untoward with the advert concept” and felt it was not inappropriate since “the entire campaign would be a tongue-in-cheek look at the Ladies Day’s at race meeting where these days a large number of cross dressers make a day of it.”
“Furthermore, we exclusively cast members of the Trans community in the various transgender roles in the commercial.
“Given the attention and diligence we demonstrated throughout the development of this commercial, we are very disappointed by today’s decision.
“Finally it is worth pointing out that the commercial, which went live on YouTube less than one week ago, has almost 250,000 views with more ‘likes’ than ‘dislikes’.”