Ad description

A TV ad for commercial loans featured a man and a woman sitting on a sofa in their home. The man stated, "My mum gave me this incredible watch," and the woman stated, "It can do so many amazing things". The man stated, "Help start a business, pay school fees", and the woman stated, "Fly us to the Caribbean". On-screen text stated "Minimum loan £1,000, maximum £1m. Subject to valuation. Over 18's only. Conditions apply. Representative APR 69%. Money within 24 hours of valuation". The man then stated "That's 'cause we send it to Borro.com, and get money for the things we really need." The man was then shown at a computer, browsing the advertiser's website. The voice-over stated, "With Borro, you can secure a loan using assets like jewellery, art, antiques. It's fast, easy, and there's never a credit check." The man was then shown helping his mother remove her coat, and she stated, "Oh, I see you like your watch then". He smiled to the camera and stated, "You have no idea". The voice-over and on-screen text stated "Use what you have to get what you need", and on-screen text stated "0808.163.9600" and "borro.com".

Issue

Three viewers challenged whether the ad irresponsibly encouraged consumers to take out loans for non-essential purposes such as holidays and leisure activities.

Response

Clearcast responded on the advertiser's behalf. They said, although holidays might be seen as a frivolous product on which to spend money, consumers would not be at risk if they were securing a loan against relatively small assets, such as a watch, where as in other forms of lending consumers' property or salary might be at risk. They said, because of the lesser risk and relatively low APR, they believed the ad was not irresponsible in showing how consumers might spend the money.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA considered that taking out a loan was a step that should only be undertaken following careful consideration and that marketers should take care to advertise those products responsibly.

We noted that, after the man in the ad said a loan could fund starting a new business and  school fees, the woman said the money from the loan could help pay for a holiday to the Caribbean, and the man went on to say Borro.com would help them "get money for the things" they "really need". We considered that the reference to using high interest, short-term credit to fund non-essential purchases such as holidays was likely to be seen as encouraging frivolous spending of that borrowed money. We also considered the claims "It's fast, easy, and there's never a credit check" and "Money within 24 hours of valuation" suggested the loan could be obtained quickly and easily, and contributed to an impression that careful thought was not required in advance of taking out a loan that was also suggested could be used to fund non-essential purchases. Because we considered the reference to using a loan to fund a holiday encouraged frivolous spending of borrowed money, we concluded that the ad was irresponsible.

The ad breached BCAP Code rule  1.2 1.2 Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society.  (Responsible advertising).

Action

The ad must not appear in its current form. We told Borro Ltd to ensure that future marketing communications did not advertise loans in an irresponsible way.

BCAP Code

1.2    


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