Recently we have seen many land based bingo halls closing their doors but many new bingo sites launch into the world of internet bingo. The closure of land based bingo halls has long been blamed on the double taxation levied against them and the smoking ban has also been attributed to its decline. The game of bingo has long been labelled for those having bingo wings and blue rinses but the opening of new bingo halls like that of Mecca Bingo Beeston have seen them try and move away from this misconception.
Why then would one internet bingo portal launch a search for the star of their marketing campaign as someone who is “grossly obese” to front it? Whilst we understand that not all woman are size zero model types does this sort of marketing then undo all that has been done in making bingo, both offline and at internet bingo sites, more “trendy”. Does this new type of marketing not then take it back to bingo wings and blue rinses thus making the game about plus sizes and older ladies?
When you take a look at the 10 finalists in the bingo wings campaign many are actually budding thespians, people seeking that little bit of fame, not actually REAL woman as they would have people believe. Maybe we are too cynical about this marketing campaign; it doesn’t really seem to be about the REAL bingo player, more about poking a bit of fun at people who carry a little bit more weight than most.
Internet bingo is for all people, males, females, fat, thin, young (over 18’s of course) and old so why categorise the game again when there has been much effort in moving away from the bingo wings and blue rinses?
