ASA Adjudication on HSBC Bank plc

Ad

A TV ad for the HSBC International Premier account service showed a family moving house from Kuala Lumpur to Vancouver. A male voice-over said "With HSBC's International Premier service, when you move countries, we'll help set up your mortgage, bank account and credit cards before you leave ... HSBC Premier helps you get more out of the world, from the world's local bank." On-screen text stated "To qualify you must have either savings of £50,000, or equivalent with HSBC or an individual income of £75,000, or equivalent, mandated to Premier account and a mortgage of over £250,000, or equivalent, with HSBC. Subject to local regulatory requirements. The ad ended with a map of the world; lights were visible in various countries across the world. On-screen text stated “HSBC PREMIER The world’s local bank”.

Issue

One viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading, because he understood that the service was not available in Portugal, a destination he believed would be attractive for many British residents.

BCAP TV Code

Response

HSBC Bank plc (HSBC) said the ad formed part of a larger campaign designed to illustrate the nature of the service that the HSBC Premier Account offered.  They said the ad featured an example of the relocation facility to demonstrate the style, nature and quality of the service, but was not designed to mislead viewers about the nature or geographic coverage of the service.  HSBC explained that the advertised service was available in all countries where there were HSBC Premier offices; HSBC provided the list of 40 countries which had Premier offices.  They also explained that where a country did not have an HSBC branch, they would still seek to assist customers through arrangements with local banks where one was available, however they explained that there were no HSBC branches or local arrangements in Portugal.  HSBC offered to amend their future ads to avoid confusion in future.

Clearcast explained that they had received detailed information from HSBC about any limitations on the account itself and had only cleared the ad for broadcast with detailed disclaimers.  They said they had been assured that HSBC Premier customers would receive priority service and emergency assistance in every HSBC branch around the world in 82 countries, but they did not know that the service would, in fact, be limited to 40 countries.  Nevertheless, Clearcast felt that the list of countries was fairly extensive and would cover most likely destinations for British people looking to move abroad.  They pointed out that the ad had not used words such as "anywhere" or "wherever" and, coupled with the "Subject to local regulatory requirements" disclaimer, viewers were likely to understand that there were some limitations to the service.  Clearcast pointed out that the ad had aired for a year without complaint which they felt indicated that the disclaimers, and additional information on the HSBC website, were adequate in all but one case.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted that the Premier account service was available in 40 countries across the world where an HSBC Premier office was located.  We also noted that, where an HSBC Premier office was not located in a particular country, HSBC would try, through an arrangement with local banks should there be one, to assist customers with relocating.  We understood that there was no such arrangement in Portugal, and we welcomed HSBCs commitment to make their ads clearer in future.

Although we did not consider that viewers would necessarily believe that the HSBC Premier account service was available in every country, we considered that, in the absence of any qualification advising them otherwise, viewers were unlikely to understand that the service was limited to only 40 countries.  We noted that HSBC had offices in 82 countries.  We considered that some existing HSBC Premier customers and viewers who might be interested in the service could be disappointed to learn that the service was limited to such an extent.  We noted Clearcasts comments that 40 countries was still a fairly extensive list and their view that the disclaimer "Subject to local regulatory requirements" would highlight to viewers that there were some limitations to the service.  We considered the disclaimer would merely indicate to viewers that the setting up of their new mortgage, bank account and credit cards would be subject to local laws and would not see it as an indication of geographical restriction to the service.  We considered that there were a number of destinations alongside Portugal that viewers might be surprised and disappointed to find out where not on the list and concluded that, without qualification, the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP Broadcast (TV) Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications), 5.2.3 (Qualifications) and 9.3 (Finance and investment - Misleading advertising).

Action

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)