ASA Raps Camelot for Ad Outside School

The UK Advertising Standards Authority has censured the country's lottery group Camelot for placing an ad for a scratch card near the entrance of a school.

The ASA handled a complaint from a concerned citizen, who wondered if an ad that was placed near the school violated regulations. The ad had an image of a scratch card with a rainbow that had the text: "Scratch and See … Top prize £50,000 Lucky Fortune … 7 CHANCES TO WIN! £2". The ad was located closer than the 100 meters from the school that is considered the cutoff for proximity.

In their report the regulator stated: "The ASA was concerned by the proximity of the poster to the school and considered that the audience of the ad would likely be significantly skewed towards under-16s and because of that it was directed at children through the context in which the ad appeared. We therefore considered that the placement of the ad breached the Code."

The breach was the first for Camelot in the last four years, and the company admitted fault. They claim that the breach was due to a geolocation error, and they stated that they're using a new tool to make sure they're compliant.