The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority launched an investigation into a press ad for bookmaker Paddy Power featuring a picture of boxer Floyd Mayweather with the headline "Always bet on black," according to Simon Gwynn of CAMPAIGN LIVE. Nine people have complained that the ad, which was created in-house and appeared in the Metro and the London Evening Standard, "was racist and offensive." The ASA said that these were "outside its remit as Paddy Power was based in the Republic of Ireland, but that it had referred these complaints to ASA Ireland." Paddy Power later said that the ad "was a reference to a line from 1992 movie Passenger 57." A spokesperson said, "Like Wesley Snipes -- who famously delivered the line -- Floyd Mayweather is rightfully proud of his identity and, while the advert does reference his race, it does so in a manner which isn’t in any way derogatory or insulting. It’s also a betting-related pun which references a roulette wheel. Because we’re about gambling -- get it? If people don’t like it that’s entirely their prerogative" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 8/31).
