MrQ: Is it a swing and a miss?

Online casino operator MrQ has stood its ground on its latest 'The casino you love to hate' out-of-home campaign, following recent pushback.

The campaign, centered around a 'from jackpot to jacksh*t' slogan - chooses to highlight the likelihood of losses in online gambling as the operator takes the brazen honesty approach in the hopes of capturing the imagination of prospective players. Indeed, further campaign taglines include 'Only want to play if you win? Grow up' and 'Want to win every time? Play a vending machine.'

Subsequently, the campaign has fallen short under the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) rule 16.3.9 on toughness, simultaneously being rejected by the UK's Northern Rail for display.

Honesty: The best policy

It is probably evident to many both in and outside of the industry exactly what MrQ was trying to achieve here. The operator has argued honesty and openness as part of its defence of the campaign, highlighting that it has merely pointed out the harsh realities of gambling and the likelihood of accumulating losses.

There is, without a doubt, something to be said for the provocative approach - and regardless of the form it comes in, honesty is something that should be valued; especially in marketing, and especially in this industry. Further, MrQ has underlined its desire to cut through the noise with this latest advertisement - going against the grain of what it has labelled a 'sanitised' industry whilst also providing transparency to its players. Or, at least, that appears to be the idea.

Explaining the campaign in more detail, MrQ CMO, Adam Ryan stated: "The creative executions actively discourage reckless play and undermine realistic expectations in line with what rule 16.3.9 is designed to prevent. MrQ believes in being open and honest with their players, and building trust in the relationship, not hiding behind generic corporate disclaimers."

The casino we want you to hate?

Advertising creativity is something that we all agree should be encouraged. And for want of a better phrase; if you get it wrong - you get it wrong. This campaign, unfortunately, has.

One line that draws towards this conclusion is that the tone, while undeniably honest, is inherently aggressive. 'Only want to play if you'll win? Grow up. Over 18s only,' is explained by Ryan as 'not being about toughness' but about 'responsibility' as it wants to provide a 'direct reminder' that gambling is for responsible adults. Sentimentally, this works just fine. The problem is it's just too loud, and anyone who has either lost their temper or caused someone else to do so knows that as soon as you turn up the volume, the subject matter gets swallowed by it.

Compounding the effect of the brash tone, MrQ has also based this campaign around the incorrect assumption that consumers are unable to recognise clear and obvious reverse psychology as it stares them in the face. They know that the only reason they see an advertisement is, at the end of the day, because that company wants to acquire their business - which is why most companies tend to veer away from instructions such as 'grow up.'

Potentially the key oversight of the operator's approach, however, is one rooted deeply in a psychological fact of basic human nature. Nobody likes to be told what to do. Ultimately, it's that simple.

Too much, too soon?

Indeed, there is nothing wrong with cutting through the noise, nor rustling a few feathers, or raising a few eyebrows. In this sense, it would seem that MrQ has achieved exactly what it set out to do with this campaign. At the end of the day, we're talking about it!

Nevertheless, casting the mind back 20 years to the pioneers of responsible practices and player protection - and thinking of the tireless hours many have put in to raise the profile of the field in that time - this alternative approach does come across as more reckless than revolutionary. As part of its press release defending the campaign, MrQ stated: "The team behind this rebrand believe that responsible gambling messaging does not need to be sterile and safe; it has to be wholly human."

But RG messaging does need to be safe, and the human element required as part of the outreach should, realistically, be more firmly rooted in compassion. This campaign feels more akin to being told off by the strange substitute teacher without having realised you were doing anything wrong.

The responsible gaming sector has come a very long way, but those within it would assure you that there is still a long way to go and - in many ways - the field is still somewhat finding its feet in the broader gambling landscape. At the end of the day, if there is a time and a place for this fresh new approach, it may not be here and now.

Top marks for trying MrQ, but it's a swing and a miss this time - in my opinion!