British Airways gambling-themed holiday advert irks usual suspects

Yet another gambling advert is riling up the UK media, but this time the target of their ire is British Airways.

On Tuesday, the Guardian reported that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) was fielding complaints about a recent British Airways Holidays television commercial, in which a holiday couple relates a tale about winning a small slot machine jackpot at an unspecified resort.

The ad features the happy couple returning to their hotel room while explaining how they “had a bit of spare change so we put it in the slot machine … and won a couple of dollars. So we put it back in and the next thing we know we’d won $493. Luckiest dip ever.”

The usual suspects, including the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, are up in arms based on their view that the ad is promoting gambling. Former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith claimed to be “stunned” by the airline’s decision to approve the “utterly appalling” commercial.