Sometimes technology fails to help us in our daily life. But, once and a while you need to stop and open your eyes. And, of course, take control of the situation to overcome the technological limits. And perhaps it’s a good advice that Camelot should have taken.
Indeed, recently a computer program put Camelot UK Lotteries in a pinch. So, this is what happened. Camelot placed an ad for a scratch card reading. “Scratch and See… Top prize £50,000 Lucky Fortune… 7 CHANCES TO WIN! £2.”
The add was placed at the entrance of a school, which is not within the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code regulations 12th edition. And of course, resulted in the removal of the advertisement immediately after someone noticed. So let’s examine this neglect a bit further.
What does CAP say
The CAP code 17.14, 12th edition states. “Marketing communications for casinos and lotteries should not be directed at those aged under 16 years through the selection of media or context in which they appear.”
Which the National Lottery clearly broke in this case. Now, Camelot has since this incident removed the advertisement and said that their policy is not to place this type of ads within 100 meters of a school.
They even pointed out that the mistake was due to a program glitch. In fact, according to Camelot, the program failed to point out the school as a potential risk. And since then the company ceased to use it. They even implemented a new database that works on geographical boundaries. So, the postal code system is now a thing of the past.
The facepalm moment
Indeed, to rely so blindly on a program to identify the position of an ad sounds more of an excuse then assuming the responsibility. And one could ask the question. Who put up the ad in the first place?
Admittedly, there had to be some indication that the entrance belonged to a school… Anyhow, we hope that the new and improved database will keep Camelot out of the press for silly mistakes like this.
