Anti-gambling ad seriously backfires

The Singapore National Council on Problem Gambling had an own goal on their hands after their ad went viral - because it predicted the right result.

The ad has been running in Singapore throughout the World Cup. It shows two young boys sitting on footballs, with one saying to the other:

“I hope Germany wins. My dad bet all my savings on them.”

But the supposedly heart-breaking glimpse of the damage caused by gambling went viral after Germany did indeed win, thrashing Brazil with the highest score ever at a World Cup finals.

Forget about Paul the Octopus, birds, or Pandas... We should get irresponsible problem gambling dads to pick winners! pic.twitter.com/gtzN9rpwfA

— Young (@Mister_Young) July 9, 2014

Unfortunately the anti-gambling message of the ad was somewhat lost, with the fictional dad being given credit for predicting the right result.

This boy and his dad must be happy like a bird now! Booked Europe holiday already! #WorldCup2014 #FailAd pic.twitter.com/S78wOCj7WN

— SGAG (@SGAG_SG) July 8, 2014

AT LEAST SOMEBODY'S HAPPY RIGHT NOW. #BRA #GER pic.twitter.com/ifAi6lNR4w

— Zing Tsjeng (@misszing) July 8, 2014

Singapore minister for trade and industry Teo Ser Luck showed a sense of humour about the whole thing, saying in a Facebook post:

“Germany beat Brazil 7-1 ! Brazil need to find out what went wrong and I need to find the script-writer for the gambling control advertisement.”

Post by Teo Ser Luck.