Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, of which one was Upheld and one was Not upheld.
Ad description
A radio ad, for a 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."
Issue
1. A listener challenged whether the ad had been appropriately scheduled, because she believed it was irresponsible to broadcast the ad at times when it could be heard by children.
2. The 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.
Response
1. Wonga said there was no implication in the ad that children could obtain a loan. Their service was only available to over 18-year-olds and, if children heard the ad, they would be unable to apply for credit. Wonga pointed out that many financial services ads used memorable jingles or characters, but there was nothing in their ad that that was harmful or unsuitable for children to hear.
The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) said the ad was clearly addressed to potential customers over the age of 18 rather than children. They believed the melody used in the ad was unlikely to be of interest to children and therefore did not consider a scheduling restriction was necessary.
2. Wonga said the aim of the ad was to show that after a customer had visited their website and the application was completed, Wonga would be able to provide funds quickly and efficiently. They did not believe that the ad, either the jingle or the lyrics, gave the impression that the process of taking out a high interest loan was one that could be made lightly. Loans were only provided after a customer had access to key financial information on their website. They said their website clearly set out their commitment and approach to responsible lending and offered potential customer-information on their policies on fairness and transparency. Wonga disagreed that the ad gave the impression that high interest short-term loans was a financial commitment that did not require a great deal of consideration and also disagreed that the ad implied that such loans could be used routinely to supplement income.
The RACC did not believe that the tone and style of the ad was irresponsible or likely to lead to harm. They pointed out that following the song, the voice-over stated, "For a short-term loan that you control, visit [website] ..." and the website gave key information about the service prior to any consumers taking out a short-term loan.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted the ad promoted a payday loan service, which was only available to those over 18 years of age and had been broadcast at times when children were likely to be listening. However, the nature of the service also prevented children, who might have heard the ad, from acting upon the offer.
We understood that some people objected to children hearing such ads, because they feared it normalised the use of short-term loans, but although we acknowledged those concerns, the product was nonetheless legally available. We considered that although the song was catchy and upbeat, which might appeal to children, the actual content of the lyrics and voice-over were nonetheless unlikely to capture their attention or imagination. We therefore concluded that, because the ad was unlikely to result in any harm to children who might hear it, the ad was acceptable without a scheduling restriction.
On this point, the ad was investigated under BCAP Code rules 1.2 1.2 Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society. (Social responsibility), 4.1 4.1 Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons under the age of 18. (Harm and offence) and 32.3 32.3 Relevant timing restrictions must be applied to advertisements that, through their content, might harm or distress children of particular ages or that are otherwise unsuitable for them. (Scheduling) but was not found in breach.
2. Upheld
We 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. We 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, we were 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. We 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, we concluded that the ad was irresponsible.
On this point, 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. (Social responsibility).
Action
The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told Wonga to ensure that their ads did not imply that payday loans could routinely be used to supplement an income.
