A bosomy Loto-Québec advertising campaign condemned by the Quebec government as sexist has forced the chastened lottery to change the approval process for its casino ads.
Unlike Loto-Québec’s other subsidiaries, ads for the province’s casinos have always been approved by top management at the Société des Casinos du Québec. No longer. The casino’s luck has run out and upper management of Loto-Québec will now approve all casino advertising.
The reason: A recent full-page ad for the Casino de Montréal that appeared in The Improper Bostonian, a biweekly magazine with a high-income readership of 433,000 that bills itself as Boston’s premier entertainment and lifestyle guide. Titled “One City. One Casino. Infinite Possibilities,” the comic book-style ad featured Jack, a young, blackjack-playing American. “Nice pair,” says Brigitte, an attractive woman in a revealing dress, as Jack is dealt two aces. “Jack liked what he saw,” reveals another caption, as he stares at Brigitte’s breasts. “Man, I just love Montreal,” Jack says.
Another ad, for an accompanying website, called Montreal Casino Matchplay, had an episode called “Montréal à la Brigitte,” and a cartoon image of another young American male playing pool, surrounded by a bevy of adoring beauties attracted by his money.
The campaign’s existence was revealed in a Radio-Canada TV news item earlier this month, accompanied by the harsh disapproval of the province’s council on the status of women. “What image are we giving of Quebec women?” asked Hélène Harvey, president of the Conseil du statut de la femme. “That they’re easy?”
The opposition Parti Québécois’ spokesperson called the campaign unacceptable and “a major lack of judgment.” Then Carole Théberge, Quebec’s Minister of the Family, Senior Citizens and the Status of Women, weighed in with a news release denouncing the campaign for presenting a sexist and negative image of women.
Loto-Québec issued an apology and pulled the campaign, but also denied culpability. “Loto-Québec management were unaware of the ad and when the journalist made it public, we agreed that it was in poor taste,” says Jean-Pierre Roy, director of media relations at Loto-Québec.
“Sometimes mistakes happen, and that’s unfortunate,” says Mike Randall, vice-president, social responsibility and communications at the Moncton, N.B.-based Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Randall says the Atlantic Lottery has an internal process that sees all ads approved not just by marketing staff, but by its various divisions. The aim is to ensure communications fit its mandate “as an organization that provides entertaining products in a socially responsible manner to Atlantic Canadians.”
To guard against a repeat, all casino advertising will require approval from Loto-Québec’s president and general manager Alain Cousineau or his representative. A new code of ethics for casino advertising will be established to go along with Loto-Québec’s existing code for lottery ads.
As well, Loto-Québec will seek explanations from the agency, Palm Arnold (which didn’t return Marketing’s calls at press time) and internal Société des casinos staff who approved the campaign. “After that, Loto-Québec’s management will decide on any type of sanctions or punishment that may be suited to the situation,” Roy said, without providing further details.
