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Health Lottery ad banned for implying it has more winners than Lotto Health Lottery ad banned for implying it has more winners than Lotto
(21 days later)
A TV ad for the Health Lottery has been banned for misleadingly implying it has more winners than rival draw Lotto.A TV ad for the Health Lottery has been banned for misleadingly implying it has more winners than rival draw Lotto.
The Health Lottery ran a television campaign in May that claimed in a voiceover: “There’s never been a better time to play the Health Lottery ... and with over £100m handed out in prize money, there are more winners too”. It also featured a number of previous winners, one of whom said: “Lotto became too expensive with too many balls in the machine.”The Health Lottery ran a television campaign in May that claimed in a voiceover: “There’s never been a better time to play the Health Lottery ... and with over £100m handed out in prize money, there are more winners too”. It also featured a number of previous winners, one of whom said: “Lotto became too expensive with too many balls in the machine.”
A viewer complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the claim “there are more winners too” made a misleading comparison between the Health Lottery and Lotto (also known as the National Lottery).A viewer complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the claim “there are more winners too” made a misleading comparison between the Health Lottery and Lotto (also known as the National Lottery).
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The Health Lottery said the “more winners” claim was a reference to the fact that in the year following the Health Lottery’s launch, it increased the number of draws a week from one to two. Later, it increased them again to four draws a week and in 2015, it introduced a further draw which meant it now had five draws a week. It said each additional draw had created more and more winners, and added that they had recently introduced raffle promotions linked to their lottery draws, which created yet more winners.The Health Lottery said the “more winners” claim was a reference to the fact that in the year following the Health Lottery’s launch, it increased the number of draws a week from one to two. Later, it increased them again to four draws a week and in 2015, it introduced a further draw which meant it now had five draws a week. It said each additional draw had created more and more winners, and added that they had recently introduced raffle promotions linked to their lottery draws, which created yet more winners.
It said the claim was not intended to suggest that the Health Lottery had more winners than Lotto. It said that while the presenter appeared at two separate times in the ad, the totality of what she said in the ad was: “It’s easy to play, if you do it online the Health Lottery checks it for you … and with over £100m handed out in prizes there are more winners too”.It said the claim was not intended to suggest that the Health Lottery had more winners than Lotto. It said that while the presenter appeared at two separate times in the ad, the totality of what she said in the ad was: “It’s easy to play, if you do it online the Health Lottery checks it for you … and with over £100m handed out in prizes there are more winners too”.
The Health Lottery said that as of 25 February 2016, it had paid out £105,629,867 in prize money and there had been 5,803,970 prize winners since its launch, and that this number was growing all the time.The Health Lottery said that as of 25 February 2016, it had paid out £105,629,867 in prize money and there had been 5,803,970 prize winners since its launch, and that this number was growing all the time.
The ASA said it was unclear from the ad as to what the presenter’s claim of “there are more winners too” referred.The ASA said it was unclear from the ad as to what the presenter’s claim of “there are more winners too” referred.
It added that without any further context, viewers were likely to interpret a claim including the word “more” to be a comparison – in this case, between the two lotteries - and so banned the ad.It added that without any further context, viewers were likely to interpret a claim including the word “more” to be a comparison – in this case, between the two lotteries - and so banned the ad.