Irish betting company Paddy Power are known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to their advertising. You may recall that they were the guys behind the infamous ‘If Oscar Walks’ controversy that had people rather peeved, so much so that it became the most complained about advert in British history.

Well chalk up another shocker then after some fool tweeted this yesterday:

Being a Newcastle fan myself, and having endured another beating at the hands of Liverpool last night, I can handle the mockery of the football club but who in their right mind thinks it is OK to joke about the spate of unarmed black men being killed by cops? In the last week alone we have seen Walter Scott gunned down (HERE), as well as some footage from February of a mentally-ill man mowed down in Florida (HERE).

The backlash was swift with CNN reporting as follows:

A Paddy Power spokesman told CNN before Liverpool’s 2-0 victory at Anfield: “It was a joke, and no offense was meant.”

The tweet has since been deleted, but its removal — along with the statement — have done little to placate social media users who condemned the organization (sic), with some calling for the person who wrote the tweet to be sacked.

Being edgy is considered cool, Paddy Power. Being dickheads is something completely different. Some of their past adverts that have courted controversy below:

I wonder if they are offering odds on whether the person who sent the tweet will get fired?

[source:cnn]