'Socially irresposible' Sainsbury's Bank credit card ad slapped with ASA ban
Sainsbury's Bank has been issued with a ban from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over an ad promoting its credit card services which was dubbed "socially irresponsible."
'Socially irresposible' Sainsburys's Bank credit card ad slapped with ASA ban
The watchdog investigated the ad after one customer complained that the bank implied the best way to finance property renovations was by getting a credit card.
The campaign (below) was created by the brand's outgoing agency AMV BBDO. It showed an interview with a couple discussing how they had modernised their home as visual cues relating to their conversation, including a cartoon stampede and a building being demolished, flashed up on the screen.
The individuals featured in the ad stated: "Getting a credit card, we've been able to pay along our terms and use the flexibility that that gives us. If we can get through that, we can get through anything."
Sainsbury's argued that the push was intended to feature a candid interview with real customers talking about its bank's products, and that the couple in the spot were recruited via word of mouth. It noted that the resulting footage was pulled together from unscripted material, and also pointed to on-screen text that appeared when the customers began speaking, which included information about the consequences of using a credit card.
The ASA, however, upheld the the complaint on the grounds that the renovation referred to in the ad was likely to be understood as a project to improve or expand the couple's property, rather than to carry out essential maintenance. It said that comments like: “We kind of went in head-first really”, “You got a bit over-excited”, “I just started knocking things down” and “We definitely bit off more than we could chew” implied that the couple had not fully considered or been prepared for the consequences of renovating their home and the resulting impact on their lives.
Furthermore, it said the ad's endline - 'It’s never just money, it’s freedom. Credit cards from Sainsbury’s Bank' - reinforced the impression created by the ad that the card could be used to fix problems that arose during a non-essential project, and the ad’s relative lack of emphasis on the potential risks of using credit to resolve such problems.
For these reasons, the regulator said the ad trivialised the process of taking out credit and was therefore "irresponsible," Sainbury's Bank has been told not to show it again in its current form.