ASA rules in favour of Ladbrokes in The Goonies slot complaint

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint against Ladbrokes over a paid-for Facebook ad promoting its The Goonies slot game.

The ad, published on 31 March 2021, showcased the slot via an image of a nautical map with superimposed text, along with some realistic-looking golden doubloons and a Jackpot King logo.

One complainant challenged whether the ad’s reference to the film The Goonies was likely to be of particular appeal to those under 18 years of age.

Ladbrokes argued the ad did not contain any imagery or characters from The Goonies and said the film would not be well known to children in 2021 having been originally released in 1985.

The regulator agreed and ruled the ad was not in breach and that no further action was necessary.

The ASA said in its assessment: “We understood that when it was initially released in 1985, The Goonies, which involved a pirate-themed treasure hunt and featured a cast predominantly comprised of children, would have particularly appealed to audiences under the age of 18.

“We understood that since its release the film had become available on streaming services, but had not seen widespread re-release in cinemas.

“We also understood that the film had gained cult status, particularly among adults who were children when the film was originally released.

“We considered that because of that, it was not a recent or current film with which children were likely to be familiar. Nonetheless, we considered the content of the film was likely to have some appeal for them.

“However, given its popularity among adults, we did not consider that it was likely to appeal more to under-18s than over-18s,” it concluded.