Paddy Power 'brought advertising into disrepute' with Pistorius ad

Bookmaker Paddy Power broke industry regulations with its Oscar Pistorius murder trial advert, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled. The company received a record 5,525 complaints for the ad, which was published in the Sun on Sunday newspaper, was accused of trivialising domestic violence against women by offering a refund on all losing bets if the Paralympian is found not guilty. He is currently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.The ASA said the advert could likely cause widespread offence, although Paddy Power said there was no reference to anyone who had died in the add. However, in ASA's view: "Given the content of the ad, and the prevailing circumstances at the time of its publication, we concluded that it brought advertising into disrepute."The group's shareprice dipped 1.06% to 59.58p. NR