On the occasion of Victoria’s public holiday in honour of gambling … we mean, a horse race … we thought it was timely to share an advertisement made for ABC1’s Gruen Planet that aims to make Australians stop caring about the Melbourne Cup. It’s also a pretty effective anti-gambling ad in general.
Created by Sense Advertising, for Gruen Planet, ABC1.
In this 30-second advertisement, a young boy enthuses, ‘I can’t wait for the Melbourne Cup! I’m picking a horse, and Dad’s going to place a bet for me. Two bucks.’ Then it escalates to the boy falling in love with racing, and betting. ‘There are races running all year long, so I can bet every single day.’ And almost before the viewer realises, it shifts from comedy to tragedy. ‘I’ll get married, have a couple of kids, and steal from them. Eventually, I’ll lose everything.’
Of course, most Australians gamble at some stage (for instance, an annual Melbourne Cup flutter) without it ever becoming a problem. Gambler’s Help Victoria offers some sage and simple advice for how to make sure your Melbourne Cup punt doesn’t become a headache the next day.
Think of it as an expense, like any other form of entertainment (for example, buying movie tickets), rather than a potential way to make money. Then budget for it accordingly – and don’t be tempted to blow the budget.
Good luck!