The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a Ladbrokes tweet featuring Jake Paul may have appealed to minors.
The promoted tweet in question was posted by Entain-owned brand Ladbrokes in February 2023. It featured an image of Jake Paul following his defeat by Tommy Fury with a caption stating “So, we’ve got to ask the question… What’s next for Jake Paul? Vote here now”.
There was then a poll with the options “Win the re-match”, “Head to the MMA”, “Return to YouTube”, and “Join the WWE”.
The ASA challenged if the ad breached its code as it included an individual who was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.
ASA Rules Ladbrokes Tweet Featuring Jake Paul May Appeal to MinorsDespite Ladbrokes assertions, the ASA ruled:
The ASA expected advertisers to provide evidence that they had identified what persons or characters were generally known for outside the context of an ad, and had used appropriate sources of data and information to assess their likely level of appeal to under-18s. Because the ad had appeared in a medium where under-18s could not be entirely excluded from the audience it needed to comply with that rule.
ASA Rules Ladbrokes Tweet Featuring Jake Paul May Appeal to Minors
The ASA also noted that Paul has around 3 million followers on social media that are minors. He also appeared on a Disney show in recent years making him highly recognizable to under 18s.
In its summation, the ASA noted:
For those reasons, we considered that the ad was irresponsible and breached the Code.
ASA Rules Ladbrokes Tweet Featuring Jake Paul May Appeal to Minors
Ladbrokes has been warned that the ad must not appear again and that any future marketing must not include people who may appeal to minors.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.