Lottoland has ignored me and other newsagents who have complained about the recent ignorant and unreasonable depiction of newsagents in their currently-playing TV commercial. As I wrote here last week, the ad includes an unfair, disparaging even, depiction of a newsagent. They set this up by placing the ad inside what looks like an old-style newsagency, something Australians will recognise.
I have Tweeted Lottoland as have other newsagents. With no response. It seems to me the company does not care about how it depicts its competition.
in my view, the Lottoland ad represents a misrepresentation in advertising, which is likely to cause damage to the business or goodwill of the competitor -= newsagents. Here I am using a definition from the Misleading and Deceptive Advertising page of the Advertising Standards Australia website, a site on which we cal rely to consider the ethics and standards of advertising.
I’d love to see a mainstream media outlet pick up this story and the appalling, in my opinion, of newsagents by Lottoland. I’d also like them look at what Lottoland is actually selling.
Maybe Tatts could help fund newsagents to take action on this.
Maybe some advertising standard should look at it and sue lottoland for misrepresented adds that hurt small business.
The real issue is what exactly Lottoland is selling.
I stand to be corrected on this but as I understand it, when you purchase a ticket from Lottoland in one of the overseas lotteries, you dont actually buy a ticket redeemable from the lotteries owner.
As I comprehend how it works is they are operating as bookmakers taking your money as a bet on the odds of those numbers being drawn. They then lay off those odds by way of an insurance policy. In the unlikely event that the combination you have wins the major prize, they then claim for the prize against the insurer. There is no transactions with the actual lotteries provider and no redeemable ticket issued and paid out on. One customer told me that the entry cost can vary weekly depending on the size of the jackpot prize and as he explained that is dependent on the insurance company.
Sounds fine until the insurer has to pay out or the bookie has some sort of financial trouble.
Do I have this right and if so it is worth exploring with the next customer that asks if you get a Lottoland overseas lotto ticket over the counter.
James you are right. I plan to write more about what they are actually selling in the next day or so.
Also, check out their Twitter page – they are using the image of the ‘newsagent’ there. https://twitter.com/LottolandAU
They don’t reply to anyone, so once again you’re sending a tweet to an account that doesn’t reply to anyone and complaining about getting a reply.
You know full well there are proper channels through which you can make a complaint…
*about not getting a reply.
Neil what are the proper channels?
They are on Twitter. Posts to them are seen by their followers and those who search for them. It is reasonable to Tweet about this to them.
You’ve linked to the Ad Standards website in your article, that website states
“Agencies in Australia which take complaints and consider whether advertising is misleading and deceptive, include the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB). Some complaints are also taken to court.”
Your tweet doesn’t even ask for a response, just says shame on them etc etc.
You’re not being reasonable, you’re just weakening your argument.
Neil you can think what you like about ‘weakening’ the argument. The thing is, I have done several things by writing about it here, tweeting Lottoland in Australia and several of their overseas entities. I have written to Ad Standards but have not written about it here as that letter is less relevant to the broader community here.
What have you done?
I haven’t done anything, the ad is in line with my experience with newsagencies as a customer.
I dont think your going to get very far complaining to the ASB, I’ve been inside plenty of Newsagencies that make this Newsagent (actor?) look good.
To be honest I think OS betting agencies should be banned and with Xenophon now wielding considerable power it may just happen. As for the Lotto Land ad, I find it amusing, might be time to grow a thicker skin.
I agree with Steve.
OS betting is a problem, being precious about an ad, not so much.
I don’t understand why you would follow the blog Steve or Neil if you are just a consumer?
I used to work in the industry, I still follow out of interest.
Amanda, I’m coming up 5 years owning my Newsagency. I think OS Betting Agents are a blight on Australia and Lotto Land a major competitor to newsagents, but I have no problem with the depiction of a newsagent in the ad. Lets face it the depiction could have been a lot worse and it still wouldn’t have been defaming considering some newsagencies I’ve seen.
I think the ad depicts Newsagents in a much more positive light than the wide variety of Newsagents I have visited. Newsagents should have seen this coming and been taking steps years ago to future proof their business against any changes in the lotteries market.
Im with Steve I thought It bit of a giggle, I do however find it rather ironic that people are bothered by this ad yet are not blowing up about the fact that we are advertising for The Lott ,which is direct competition to us as lottery retailers.
Pat don’t quite understand what you are getting at ?
yet are not blowing up about the fact that we are advertising for The Lott ,which is direct competition to us as lottery retailers.
The LOTT is what we sell each day in our stores
While there are dinosaur newsagents running soon to be extinct newsagency businesses, the ad portrays them as if they represent the channel. They do not. This is misleading. While you can run whatever your agenda is is putting all newsagents down, the reality is different, better – if only you would look at more businesses.
Pat, you must have missed what I have written here about The Lott and about the way Tatts directly competes with its retail network.
My personal view is there is no upside in over the counter lottery sales. This and the bullying arrogance of Tatts are the reasons I will not have lottery products in my newsagencies. That said, I will continue to draw attention to lottery issues here as this is a place reflective of channel-wide challenges and opportunities.
Bottom line, in my view the ad is misleading.
Hi Mark,Im with you 100% on your views on tatts.Unfortunately even though I have transitioned away from traditional newsagency to the point that papers / mags ect are more a public relations exercise than anything else.Being a small regional town I still need lotteries and doubt Im alone.Sad but true.
Shauns hi, we sell Tatts lottery products not The Lott .The lott is the reason Tatts have little or no regard for you or me as we are short term and very expendable.Think digital media
Tatts lottery is The Lott , its a rebrand . You sell Tatts, I sell golden Casket and SA sell SA Lottery , it will all be called The Lott .
Steve, there are far more inferior outlets selling Tatts than newsagents.
Why not do the advert in a chemist, a convenience store, a petrol station or a takeaway outlet? Many of the Tatts licences in NSW come under that banner.
The ad was specifically targeting newsagency businesses to give some credibility to its own product.
Amanda I agree 100% with your comment. The location for the ad was deliberate.
2 days at the gift fair, new products and ideas. Life feels better. Then on tram back to hotel i see probably one the worst examples of newsagency possible …… these shops are turning the brand toxic.
I like that fact that there is starting to finally be competition for the sale of lottery products.
Consider if LottoLand ever decided to go into a retail setting offering similar commissions as their online affiliates. Based on their website they are offering up to 35% commission which is significantly more then the pittance of 8% offer by the Lott. If this were to happen I would expect that nearly every single newsagency business would at the very least consider changing over to LottoLand. If the customer feels like they are playing a lottery, winning the same prizes and paying a similar price for the entry, I don’t think they will be detered, I my opinion they will actually be included to spend more on lottery type products as a whole.
I understand the upset to newsagents caused by the ad, but I say look at the positives not the negatives.
The ad was covered on Gruen tonight on ABC TV. Good discussion about the ad and how misleading it is. Plus a comment that state governments could be invested in acting because of the risk to their revenue.