$15k for punter, sad for ad

$15k for punter, sad for ad

SINGAPORE - While fans mourned Brazil's defeat in the World Cup semi-finals yesterday, one lucky person in Singapore was left beaming, with $15,000 from an outrageous bet on the match.

The shock 7-1 scoreline in Germany's favour caught everyone off guard, except this person who put $100 on a score that was literally off the charts.

Singapore Pools had offered punters the choice of placing their money on pre-fixed scorelines, ranging from 0-0, 0-1, 1-1, 2-1 and so on, all the way to 5-4. Ignoring all these, he bet on "any other score" and won $15,000.

A picture of the betting ticket started doing the rounds and My Paper confirmed its authenticity with Singapore Pools.

But it was not the only one making waves.

An anti-gambling advertisement by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) also went viral.

The ad starts off by showing a group of boys discussing who they think will win the World Cup. It ends with the last boy in the group saying: "I hope Germany will win. My dad bet all my savings on them."

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck said on his Facebook page yesterday: "Germany beat Brazil 7-1! Brazil (need) to find out what went wrong and I need to find the scriptwriter for the gambling control advertisement."

Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin also joined in with his post on Facebook: "Bad timing. Looks like the boy's father who bet all his savings on Germany will be laughing all the way to the bank!"

The ad was also mentioned in other media, such as The Telegraph and Agence France-Presse.

Netizen Leslie Teo said that it was a "lose-lose situation" no matter which country the scriptwriter had picked. "If a weak country is chosen, then the ad is deemed useless once the country is knocked out. If a strong country is chosen, then you worry that the country will be the (champion) and the ad will be counterproductive."

In response to queries from My Paper, a NCPG spokesman said: "The focus of the TVC highlights how those close to the gambler are adversely affected by problem gambling, and not who eventually wins the World Cup.

"Selecting Germany injected a sense of realism in our messaging, since no one will bet on a potentially losing team. At the end of the day, win or lose, the dangers of problem gambling, and the potential anxiety and pain that loved ones go through, remain unchanged."

Seshan Ramaswami, associate professor of marketing (education) at the Singapore Management University, said: "Advertisers have to generally think, 'What if this goes viral?' Will it be helpful or will it hurt the campaign?"

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg


Get MyPaper for more stories.

[[nid:122719]]
This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.