The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told CashEuroNet UK LLC, trading as Pounds To Pocket, that one of its television advertisements must not be broadcast again in its current form.
The ad for the payday loan provider featured a group of advertising executives discussing ideas for a new campaign.
In the ad, one of the executives stated, “Right people, we need ideas for the new Pounds to Pocket TV campaign. What have we got?” to which another executive replied, “What kind of loans do they do again?” Another executive said, “Personal loans, repaid over a period that’s affordable for you” and another said, “So, the ad could be about finding the right loan. We could have an explorer that …” The first executive said, “Too far-fetched.” Another executive stated “What about a lighthouse that lights the way through financial emergencies?” and another stated “What about a talking parrot? Pounds to Pocket, Pounds to Pocket. It’s good for repetition”. The first executive said “Guys, please”. Writing on a board behind the executives stated “Up to £2000 6-12 months”.
The voice-over said, “If Pounds to Pocket wrote adverts, they’d be as straightforward as our loans. Find out more at poundstopocket.co.uk.” On-screen text during the ad stated “Representative 399% APR. Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyadviceservice.org.uk” and “All loans subject to status, affordability and credit checks. T&Cs apply. Over 18s only”.
The ASA challenged whether the representative APR (RAPR) in the ad was given adequate prominence.
Pounds to Pocket provided quantitative data that measured how long the RAPR and other information had featured in the ads.
The ASA noted that the Consumer Credit sourcebook set out a number of conditions under which a credit ad needed to specify the RAPR. These included: if the ad indicated in any way that the way in which the credit was offered was more favourable (either for a limited period or generally) than corresponding ways used in any other case or by any other lenders or if it contained an incentive (in the form of a statement about the speed or ease of processing, considering or granting an application, or of making funds available) to apply for credit or to enter into an agreement under which credit was provided.
The ad watchdog concluded that the requirement to include the RAPR had been triggered.
The RAPR, as triggered information, should have been given more prominence than the information that triggered the requirement for its inclusion. The ASA noted that the trigger claim “If Pounds to Pocket wrote adverts, they’d be as straightforward as our loans” was included in the voice-over, whereas the triggered information (the RAPR) featured three times in bold text at the bottom of the screen, with accompanying text beneath.
While the ASA acknowledged that including the RAPR several times in bold text made it reasonably prominent within the ad, it also considered that information communicated verbally to viewers would generally be seen as being more prominent than on-screen text at the bottom of the screen, and that on-screen text at the bottom of the screen was therefore unlikely to be sufficiently prominent if the triggering information was verbally stated.
The ASA considered that the triggering information was likely to draw the viewer’s attention more than the RAPR and the RAPR was therefore insufficiently prominent. On that basis, it concluded that the ad breached the BCAP Code rules 1.3 (Compliance) and 14.11 (Lending and credit).
The ASA told Pounds to Pocket that where the inclusion of the RAPR was triggered in future ads, the RAPR needed to be given more prominence than the information that triggered the requirement for its inclusion.