- 05
- Mar
The advert watchdog has found that an advert for the loan company Picture Loan has misled consumers by suggesting that it was very easy to borrow large sums of money.
The advert shows a women walking around her home while talking on the phone to a Picture Loan advisor. While she is securing a loan of £25,000 she is also shouting instructions to her child to on where they might find their lost items. As well as this she is also talking to her husband.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received six complaints from viewers of the advert who claimed that the advert was misleading because it portrayed borrowing large amounts of money as an everyday occurrence that could be treated very lightly.
The ASA did acknowledge that the ad contained a number of warnings in that it warned borrowers about the nature of the service as well as the typical APR and how much monthly repayments would cost. However, the ASA still found that debt consolidation was a very serious matter that needed careful considerations before any decision could be made.
What the ASA ruled was that the light-hearted nature of the advert suggested that debt consolidation did not need careful consideration. ASA has ruled that Picture should not broadcast the advert again in its current form.
Picture has responded by stating that the nature of the advert was to illustrate the busy lifestyle that many borrowers lived as well as the demands that each of us face in our day to day living.
