Thursday, 10 July 2014

Singapore gambling addiction ad gets lampooned on Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon



After Singaporeans had their turn joking about the poorly conceived ad campaign, the late night talk show host tore into it and even aired his own modified version of the spot

By Bhas Kunju

The National Council for Problem Gambling's (NCPG) ad campaign for the 2014 World Cup, which features a young boy who dejectedly confesses to his father betting his life savings on Germany to win, has already been lampooned by many local netizens but it has now made its way to the USA as well.

The 30-second ad features a group of young boys talking about who the eventual World Cup winner will be.

The spot ends with a boy named Andy who sullenly tells his friends he was forcibly rooting for Germany as a result of his dad's implied gambling addiction.

Late Night Talk Show host Jimmy Fallon tore into the 30-second ad on his show on Wednesday night.

Fallon, played the ad during his opening monologue drawing huge laughter from his studio audience as the clip rolled to an end.

"Cheer up kid, your dad bet on Germany!" Fallon joked. "He's so rich you dont even need to go to college anymore!"

"Also, how much could be in the kid's savings, he's 8-years-old!" he added before jokingly claiming the amount was $17.25.

The 39-year-old talkshow host then introduced a 'new version of the commercial', which featured an edited ending with a smiling Andy acknowledging his new windfall. The ad's end credits which featured the NCPG tagline 'Kick The Habit. Stop Problem Gambling' was modified to read, 'Keep The Habit. Gamble.'

The original NCPG gambling ad has been a permanent fixture on all local media since the start of the World Cup and aired prominently during broadcast of matches.

Germany's 7-1 routing of Brazil in the semi-finals on Wednesday morning drew immediate response from creative fans who turned the ad's short-sightedness into memes which spread quickly.

Goal Singapore approached NCPG for comments on the commercial early last week but have yet to receive a reply.

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