The decision to run a hugely controversial ad that depicted Oscar Pistorius during his murder trial alongside the betting odds of him walking free was not a mistake, the advertiser behind the ad has said.
Paddy Power’s advertisement – which stated “It’s Oscar Time. Money back if he walks” – was the most complained about ad campaign of 2013 with the advertising watchdog, the ASA, receiving more than 5,500 complaints. The body went on to take the unprecedented step of ordering the campaign to be pulled.
However, three years on, Paddy Power, the head of communications at Paddy Power Betfair, said during Ad Week Europe that although it was a divisive ad he did not “think it was a mistake” to run it.
“It’s good because you want a reaction,” Power said. “Everyone either really hated it, or they defended it, but no one didn’t have an opinion on it. It was a dangerous place to go.”
The ad was so controversial it was even discussed during the Prime Minister’s question time and was accused of trivialising domestic violence by various women’s groups, yet Power said it was a strategy that ensured cut-through in a world where it is hard to be heard without taking risks.
“Advertising is meant to make an impact,” he said, “and it’s actually really hard nowadays with various regulations. It’s hard to be provocative or make a controversial TV ad, for example.”
However, things are very different in print, he said.
“Some of our most ‘controversial’ work ever, if you want to use that word, is probably in print. It’s very impactful; the copy line, the image – it creates debate. And this was just one ad, on one day in one newspaper.”
Paddy Power is no stranger to advertising controversy. In 2010, it produced an ad showing a cat being kicked into a tree by a blind footballer. Although the ad was the most complained-about of the year, it was cleared by the ASA and did not face a ban.
“We don’t try to court controversy,” Power said. “But we don’t shy away from it either.”
