How do casinos circumvent advertising bans with hip-hop?

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Casino advertising is subject to strict rules and in some situations is even prohibited. However, the industry is creative and finds ways around such prohibitions. In particular, collaborations with rappers are used for this purpose. They are considered authentic to your target group. When they mention in their lyrics the best online casino in Canada, it has a great effect on the audience. What consequences such hidden advertising leads to and why you should be careful is the topic of this article.

Rappers like to work with symbols

Women, Wealth, Power, Masculinity... The topics that rappers and hip-hoppers address in their lyrics are varied. In doing so, they attach great importance to various symbols. For example, expensive cars and helicopter flights are used in music videos to give a sense of the rappers' freedom, affluence, and attitude toward life. The casino theme also plays a role here. Online gambling is also used as a symbol. Some use it as a symbol of the danger they have faced and overcome. In other situations, however, gambling is glorified and portrayed as a way to get a lot of money fast. Because rappers are highly respected among their fans and advocate for authenticity, such messages have a great impact.

Art and business

The rap scene is far from being exclusively characterized by tough men who have mastered life on the streets and found their way to success and fame. On the contrary, today's rappers are primarily successful businessmen who, for example, enter into partnerships with advertisers. Thus, some lines of text are probably not an expression of artistic creativity, but a hidden advertising message.

In principle, there is nothing to be said against such cooperations. However, it is important that the balance between art and business is maintained and that rappers clearly show the boundaries between the two. However, this often does not happen. Thus, it is difficult for outsiders to assess who is dealing with the topic of gambling & casinos from their own experience and who merely wants to place a good advertising offer.

Advertising in the change of the time

How is it that casinos like to place hidden advertising in song lyrics? This has mainly to do with the change in advertising that has taken place in recent years. Only an older target group can be addressed via linear television. If you want to appeal to younger people, you have to be active online and especially on social networks. Here, clear rules apply to the placement of casino advertising.

By collaborating with rappers and hip hop, it is possible for casino operators to address the desired target group in the most subtle yet entertaining way possible. They don't have to run classic ads but use the reach and credibility of the musicians for their purposes.

Deliberately crossing the boundaries of what is permissible

Rappers and hip hopers like to give themselves a rebellious aura. They want to be seen as people who go their own way, who don't let others or certain rules restrict them in their creative work, and who run afoul of the law. Accordingly, they are relaxed about the rules that apply in the online world for advertisements and partnerships with companies. For example, they are happy to stretch what can be said as far as possible and do not always label advertising as such.

It is also noticeable that the topic of casinos plays quite a large role in events such as rap battles and in music videos. In principle, it would also be possible to enter into other types of partnerships. Thus, the danger of gambling addiction, which many rappers say they have experienced and actively fought, does not seem to be recognized and banished to the necessary extent.

A little more youth protection would be desirable

In principle, there's nothing against rappers and hip-hoppers partnering with and promoting top Canadian online resources. In almost all artistic fields, business always plays an important role. However, the target groups of such musicians are often 16- to 17-year-old youths. They are not yet as familiar with the mechanisms of the marketing and online world and often cannot distinguish between advertising and content as clearly as adults.

In the name of the protection of minors, it would therefore be desirable for rappers and hip-hoppers to label advertising for casinos more clearly. They do not have to "follow a proselytizing or pedagogical approach" here which many explicitly do not want. But between not moralizing and purposefully leading to something, there is a wide range in which rappers could position themselves. However, many choose business rather than transparency.

Conclusion

Cooperations between casinos and rappers are basically not a problem, but they are often used to circumvent applicable rules and advertising bans. This is often at the expense of the fans, who cannot clearly distinguish between advertising and content. This cannot be in the interests of the rappers, who are so popular precisely because of their authenticity and credibility. It is therefore to be hoped that a change in the way casino advertising is handled will take place and that rappers will become aware of their responsibility towards the target group, even if they don't actually take any responsibility at all and simply want to create art.