Wonga has been told it must not repeat one of its adverts.
A radio ad for the payday loans company featured the popular 1950s song ‘Mr Sandman’ with newly written lyrics. The lyrics stated “Mr Wonga lend me some dough. Make it the simplest loan that I’ll ever know. Give me two choices when I go on line. One for how much I want. Two for what length of time. Mr Wonga at wonga.com. You make it easy when the month feels too long. Thanks for everything you’ve done. Mr Wonga you’re number one”. At the end of the ad, a voice-over stated, “For a short-term loan that you control, visit wonga.com. Straight talking money. Terms and conditions apply.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) challenged whether the ad, and in particular the claims “Make it the simplest loan that I’ll ever know” and “you make it easy when the month feels too long”, was irresponsible, because it gave the impression that the process of taking a high interest loan was one that could be taken lightly.
The ad watchdog noted the light, breezy, sing-along music, but considered that the style of the song itself was unlikely to give the impression that taking out a high interest loan was a decision that could be taken lightly.
It also considered that it was clear that most of the claims such as “the simplest loan that I’ll ever know. Give me two choices when I go online” were referencing the efficiency of the application process. However, the ASA was concerned that the claim “Mr Wonga you make it easy when the month feels too long” gave the impression that a high interest short-term loan was something that could routinely be taken between paydays in order to supplement a monthly income.
The ASA also considered that the claim gave the impression that a high interest short-term loan was not a financial commitment that required a great deal of consideration and that impression was also compounded by the claims about the simplicity of the application process.
Because the ad implied that it was suitable to routinely use a payday loan for the purpose of supplementing a monthly income without much consideration, the ASA concluded that the ad was irresponsible.
On this point, the ad breached BCAP Code rule 1.2 (Social responsibility). The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.
the ASA told Wonga to ensure that their ads did not imply that payday loans could routinely be used to supplement an income.