The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ordered Paddy Power to withdraw an advertisement to promote wagering on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.
The controversial ad features the face of the South African Paralympic gold medalist, who is accused of shooting his girlfriend, on an Academy Award statuette with the tagline “Money back if he walks.”
The ad has generated more than 5,200 complaints, according to news reports, setting a new ASA record, and has also sparked a protest petition at Change.org that has garnered more than 122,000.
The ASA’s reach doesn’t extend to Paddy Power’s Ireland-based website, but the ASA has ordered that the ad “remain out of circulation in all UK media” until it has completed an investigation.
Paddy Power CEO Patrick Kennedy has defended the campaign, saying it was “about the trial and not about the murder” and vowed not to pull the ad.
