BK Advertising Comes Under Fire
One of the problems with online gambling is anti-gambling activists claim that it could endanger underage people. The legal gambling age in British Columbia for example is 18 and over. Though this is the case, the country has run ads on television that seem to target a much younger audience. Traditionally, if you want to see what demographic a company is seeking out, all you have to do is look at their commercial campaigns. You can see what market they want attract. For example, you won’t see a baby stroller product being advertised with senior citizens as main characters. You also won’t see a mini-van with college-aged students involved as main characters. Rather, minivans are promoted to mothers and fathers; while, baby strollers are promoted to late-twenty to thirty-year old consumers. Marketing is a huge element of any business’ success these days and companies put millions into marketing research. They want to know how to best reach the demographic they want buying their products and the demographic they can easily create value for. Unfortunately in British Columbia the rules were skewed a bit as gaming companies directed commercials that seemed targeted for people too young. Experts are warning that this could encourage young people to start wagering illegally, and in turn hurt them.
It was the BK Lottery Corporation that was running the ads and making the lottery highly attractive to the young market. One expert equated the ads to promoting smoking to underage teenagers. If gaming companies are going to be allowed to advertise in the mainstream, then they are going to have to be responsible and BK legislators are hoping to make that a ruling. Right now the incident was a sign of how things are changing and how aggressive promotion is getting these days. The world of gambling is highly competitive and that is pushing companies to do whatever they can to garner more customers. Though this is a necessity with any strong and growing business, it could also be taken overboard and hurt the public. Legislators are taking the criticism and are now looking into their own involvement with gaming companies and their advertising plans.
Tags: advertising, ban, BK, British
