Camelot in trouble for targeting children with scratch card ad
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a National Lottery scratchcard ad for inappropriately targeting children.
A scratch card ad was banned for inappropriately targeting children
The poster ad was placed directly outside the entrance of a school, and featured an image of a rainbow scratch card with the text 'Scratch and see... top prize £50,000 Lucky Fortune... 7 chances to win! £2'.
The CAP Code states that marketing communications for lotteries should not be directed at those aged 16 years and younger.
Camelot UK Lotteries National Lottery claims it has a policy against placing ads within 100 metres of a school. It has insisted the misplaced ad was the result of using a database that was supposed to identify and remove schools from potential locations using postcode data.
Due to the context in which the ad appeared, the ASA felt that the audience of the poster would likely be significantly skewed towards under-16s.
It told the company that ads must not be displayed again in close proximity to a school, and to take greater measures to ensure that its lottery ads are not directed towards children under 16.