More Outrage Over Paddy Power Bet on Oscar Pistorius Trial, Feminists Go Wild!

Paddy Power the controversial bookmakers has caused a genuine uproar and stream of complaints over it’s latest advert offering “money back if Oscar pistorius walks”.

The advert which ran in newspapers was swiftly banned, which isn’t uncommon for the paddy power brand, but the start of the petition and complaints seems to stem from a feminist / feminist group who stared the petition online at change.org.

My opinion of this is that I usually love paddy power adverts, I enjoy the mischief and think it’s a superb way of promoting them that no one else even comes close too.

This latest ad however isn’t in quite the same spirit and there is a moral issue that they chose to ignore.

It’s just not morally right to do this, and I can see their point and defence that they let people bet on what appears on the front of the papers and not just the back, but this is surely a step too far.

The petition started by Jean Hatchett reads:

“The brutal murder of a young woman is not “sport” or “entertainment”.

“138 women died in the UK alone as a result of male violence in 2013. This type of random carelessness for the lives of women by Paddy Power is an affront to those women and their families.”

Everyone would agree with the 2 points above, and it’s a horrible thought, and even more horrible statistic. But i don’t think this is an attack on women by paddy power, it wouldn’t have made a difference to them if it was a man who had been killed, but it would have done to the feminists.

The advert is or should be offensive to everyone not just women, so I fail to see how it’s a feminist issue? That said at least someone did something about it and got the support needed to get the advert banned. But with that comes more free publicity that money couldn’t buy as the story has traveled around the World.

The one “group of people with protected characteristics” this will have offended the most are those with disabilities. Yes many can laugh at their own misfortune, but the phrase used for a double amputee “money back if he walks” seems a pretty blatant bad joke, made in bad taste and not something the masses will find funny, or at least most wouldn’t admit to it.

Fans of the last leg will have seen Adam Hill’s rant about the whole situation which contains strong language:

I really do think this is a step too far for Paddy Power and would expect some punishment for the latest advert.

Could this spell the end of paddy powers adverts being seen before they get banned?

Should they be singled out for extra regulation and pre-checks before ads can run?

Only time will tell.

 

Relevant news