A newspaper advert featuring boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. that encouraged readers to "always bet on black" has been banned, according to the BBC. The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority ruled the Paddy Power ad was "likely to cause serious offence on the grounds of race." The bookmaker has been "warned not to make a similar mistake in the future." Paddy Power said that it did not believe the advertisement was "derogatory, distasteful or offensive." The phrase used in the advert, which appeared in the London Evening Standard and Metro newspapers in August, is a line from the Wesley Snipes film "Passenger 57." It was used ahead of Mayweather's "controversial fight" against Conor McGregor. Paddy Power said that Mayweather had found the line "funny, rather than offensive or derogatory." It also pointed out that the phrase "always bet on black" had been embroidered on the underwear Mayweather wore at the official weigh-in for his fight. The ASA also banned a TV advert featuring ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard for "encouraging dangerous driving." The extended ad for a new "safe driving" app from car insurance firm Aviva prompted 58 complaints to the ASA. In the ad, Coulthard, wearing a false beard, plays the part of a cab driver who "performs high-speed stunts on public roads with shocked passengers in the back" (BBC, 9/20).
