When it comes to getting a UK advertisement ready for its TV airing, all companies are required to use the services of a company such as Clearcast who will ensure the advert meets all legal criteria for airing on any TV stations based in Great Britain.
Well, that is exactly something that British Airways did recently on one of their adverts, however there was a flood of complaints about that advertisement and in the end BA decided they would pull it from air.
The problem for BA was that their advertisement which was promoting long haul flights to Vegas, showed a couple winning on a slot machine, and that appears to have rattled many viewers and also some MP’s in the UK.
Glamorising Gambling?
Glamorising gambling was one of the arguments about the advertisement put in by one Member of Parliament, and whilst the number of complaints from the general public about the advert was not huge, in fact there were just eleven of them, BA decided to simply take the advertisement off air rather than face any negative publicity.
That turn of events does appear to be a sign of the times, for the couple on the advertisement simply stated that they put their loose change into a slot machine on the way back to their hotel room after having had a swim in a casino resort swimming pool and managed to win $493, stating it was their “luckiest dip ever”.
Maybe if BA is going to film a range of other advertisements based on Vegas and other gambling destinations they should only show people that have lost when playing slot machines?
