A TV ad featuring a blind football player mistakenly kicking a cat into a tree will stay on air, despite more than 1,000 complaints, a watchdog said.
The advert, for bookmakers Paddy Power, shows the ‘Blind Wanderers FC’ playing footie when a cat runs out onto the pitch. Mistaking its bell for the ball, a player boots the cat into a tree.
A man then comes onto the pitch saying: “Paddy Power can’t get Tiddles back, there’s nothing we can do about that, but we can get you your money back with our money-back specials.”
The Advertising Standards Authority said 1,089 viewers complained about the ad in total, with 220 complaints that it was offensive to blind people and 1,070 claims it could encourage or condone cruelty to animals. Some viewers complained about both issues.
Watch the ad and tell us if you’ll be wearing a ‘Save Tiddles’ t-shirt to work tomorrow.
