The Long and Short of it, spread betting won’t provide sexual success!

ShortsandLongs.com has already got itself into a little hot water with the Advertising Standards Authority. The company which launched in the autumn of 2008 and seemingly a new kid on the spread betting block is actually part of the well established sports and financial spread betting company Spreadex, founded in 1999. ShortsandLongs.com received one complaint in relation to a regional press advertisement which featured a rather ‘confident’ man sitting with two attractive women and copy which read "We believe all traders deserve privileges ... which is why we offer: Free guaranteed stops" as well as "And that's not the only privilege you'll find at ShortsandLongs.com ... They're just business as usual - just a small part of our commitment to make spread betting more rewarding".

A complaint was made to the ASA citing two issues; the first that the advertisement made reference to ‘traders’ when the complainant felt that it should have said gamblers, the second that it could be perceived by the advert that the process of gambling enhanced male sexual attractiveness to women.

The first issue was not upheld by the ASA. The ASA statement acknowledged that the word ‘Trader’ was a recognised term for individuals involved in “the trading of financial instruments”. The ASA also stated that in their opinion “readers were likely to understand the nature of the Shorts and Longs service as a gambling product, because it specifically referred to "spread betting" in the body copy”.

The second issue was upheld by the ASA with the following statement “We noted the ad featured an image of what we considered to be a confident-looking man sitting between two glamorous women. We noted the women were touching the man's arms intimately and considered that readers were likely to infer from the ad that one of the "rewards" of success with spread betting was enhanced attractiveness and increased sexual success with the opposite sex. We concluded that the ad irresponsibly linked gambling with sexual success and enhanced attractiveness”.

We at Trader Hideout feel that the assumption being made that the spread betting fraternity is so weak minded that they would actually buy into the whole premise that the ‘size of your wallet is what makes you attractive to the opposite sex’ is completely laughable. It seems ridiculous that an advert that portrays three attractive people as a back drop for an advertisement, be so harshly judged when on a regular basis women are seen draped over sports cars, trackside at racing events and car launches and yet there are no judgements made. Come on ASA, spread betting is a serious business with the thrill found in the numbers and not a pretty face. You can read the full adjudication at the ASA site.

Andy MacKenzie of ShortandLongs.com made the following statement to Betting Hideout in response to the ruling:

“We are disappointed that the ASA has made the decision to ban the advert after receiving just one complaint. The simple fact of the matter is that ShortsandLongs.com actually reduces the risks of spread betting. All of our clients have free guaranteed stops so they know exactly what they are risking with each trade. In these difficult times, we feel that we are leading the way in responsible gambling rather than glamorising betting. In no way do we mean to suggest that opening an account with us is going to make you any better looking!”