Shelly Palmer

False Advertising?

Saratoga Casino

I recently saw a high-energy commercial with people dancing and jumping around the video slots at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway not far from my home in Saratoga Springs, NY.

The casino looked much more exciting than I remember from my last visit several years ago, so I drove over to see if they’d made any changes.

Most of the “customers” I saw feeding the machines didn’t look anything like the actors.

Rather than dancers, I saw many more people with grey hair than the under 40 year olds in the commercials. So I ask you, is it false advertising for their commercials to be filled with young adults having a blast dancing?

I understand aspirational casting…and I admit that I have cast younger and more attractive “representatives” of target audiences. Regardless, isn’t cutting the ages by nearly half overdoing this concept beyond the breaking point?

I feel that I should note that they have a nightclub at the casino that brings in younger dancers who appear to be having a great time. Regardless, this group was dancing in a separated area and they were not using the 1,700 electronic “games” (usually called video lotteries or slots) that were featured in the commercial.

What do you think? Aspirational or false?