William Hill ads banned; GTECH G2 rebrands; Paddy appoints diplomat

hills spielo paddy powerUK bookie William Hill has seen three ads banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after it upheld complaints against all three. The distinctly different ads all claimed to have the “BEST PRICES” on a number of different markets when it wasn’t the case. The first web ad claimed to have “BEST PRICES ON THE BEST HORSES BET NOW” with the second web ad stating “EURO 2012 BEST PRICES ON THE BEST TEAMS”. The TV ad under question, focusing on text betting, stated “Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK & Irish Horse racing”. The two web ads breached CAP Code rules 3.1, 3.7 and 3.38 whereas the TV ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1m 3.9 and 3.38. The last time that Hills found themselves up before the ASA was when Coral complained about an online ad earlier this year and that time the UK bookie prevailed. We can safely say that it won’t be the last time Hills are hauled over the ASA coals.

GTECH G2 has been rebranded as SPIELO G2 to cement the merger of the two Lottomatica businesses. The company confirmed via their own website earlier today and it comes after SPIELO International and GTECH G2 merged late last year. A spokesperson from the firm told eGR the rebrand “made sense because we are all one family, have one CEO and maintaining consistency is important”.

Paddy Power has signed a former diplomat to become the company’s first ever director of corporate affairs. Catherine Colloms is a former Foreign Office senior diplomat and will take responsibility for the company’s corporate communications strategy. She joins after six years with Brunswick and she told Gorkana: “I look forward to developing a strong corporate affairs function that underpins future growth and builds on the company’s reputation for dynamic engagement with all its audiences.”