Paddy Power has recently released a TV advert for Ladies Day at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival and the video has been pulled after it caused quite a stir
The firm which is offering a
free £200 bet to Cheltenham Festival fans released a 31-second advert featuring members of the transgender community and it called on viewers to 'spot the stallions from the mares.'
Ireland's largest bookmaker
Paddypower is no stranger to controversy and many viewers found the tongue-in-cheek advert - which was broadcast on SkySports in Ireland & the UK this weekend - in poor taste.
Paddy Power told CheltenhamFestival.net:
"I'm really surprised that it has had some negative responses but overall it has had a mixed reaction. It won't be pulled because we then run the risk of taking ourselves too seriously or pandering to political correctness.
"We are surprised with some of the reaction because members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community helped us put the ad together and were featured in it. It is not meant to cause offence. This was checked by Clearcast (which vets adverts) so it wasn't as if it was a guerrilla style attempt to offend - it is meant to get people talking."
However, the advert has now been pulled off the TV and after 250,000 watched the video on Youtube, it certainly had a fair amount of coverage.
The next commercial in Paddy Power’s “We Hear You” advertising campaign, “CHAVS”, will be broadcast soon.
You can watch their Ladies Day Ad below. What do you think? Should the video have been banned?
What do you think of the advert? Should Paddypower have pulled the ad? Have you seen their latest ad? Are you offended by
this one?
