MSE News: Speedy Cash 'photos with Santa' flyer branded 'irresponsible' by watchdog

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Former_MSE_Helen
Former_MSE_Helen Posts: 2,382 Forumite
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The ASA has told payday lender Speedy Cash not to target ads for its in-store events at families with children...
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Speedy Cash 'photos with Santa' flyer branded 'irresponsible' by watchdog
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  • JustMoney
    JustMoney Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Many congratulations MSE on this great achievement. Do you have any wider goals on this topic beyond stopping ads during children's TV? It strikes me that there are several other techniques that payday lenders use which target children - Speedy Cash have people in Kangaroo costumes outside their shops, they hand out balloons etc etc. Are there any written guidelines out there about what constitutes advertising that is targeted at children?
  • Clive_Woody
    Clive_Woody Posts: 5,855 Forumite
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    Personally I would like to see similar restrictions to tobacco advertising imposed on this and similar lenders.

    Hearing my children sing along to a Wonga advert because it has funny cartoon characters tells me exactly who this is targeted at. Conditioning the next generation that pay day loans and the like are a good idea is completely wrong and has no place on children's TV channels.
    "We act as though comfort and luxury are the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about” – Albert Einstein
  • BillJones
    BillJones Posts: 2,187 Forumite
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    Clive_Woody wrote: »
    Conditioning the next generation that pay day loans and the like are a good idea is completely wrong and has no place on children's TV channels.

    And yet our currrent generaion of young adults, none of whom were exposed to these adverts, still have many among their ranks who will still rush out and sign up to these companies' deals quicker than you can say "What, Christmas is happening again this year?!"

    Might I suggest turning off the television, and educating your children a little about finance?
  • Gaz83
    Gaz83 Posts: 4,047 Forumite
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    BillJones wrote: »
    Might I suggest turning off the television, and educating your children a little about finance?
    Won't happen. Not when older generations still have a bizarre hang-up about sharing financial information with their children. We see it all the time in schools. Pupils have no idea what the real world is like.
    "Facism arrives as your friend. It will restore your honour, make you feel proud, protect your house, give you a job, clean up the neighbourhood, remind you of how great you once were, clear out the venal and the corrupt, remove anything you feel is unlike you... [it] doesn't walk in saying, "our programme means militias, mass imprisonments, transportations, war and persecution."
  • Clive_Woody
    Clive_Woody Posts: 5,855 Forumite
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    BillJones wrote: »
    And yet our currrent generaion of young adults, none of whom were exposed to these adverts, still have many among their ranks who will still rush out and sign up to these companies' deals quicker than you can say "What, Christmas is happening again this year?!"

    Might I suggest turning off the television, and educating your children a little about finance?

    You may suggest whatever you like Bill, freedom of speech is wonderful thing.

    If you think it is reasonable to show these adverts on children's television then I suggest you reconsider as it is very naive to think that these adverts will not have an affect. Parents should not need to censor their child's viewing while watching channels targeted for children. If they were advertising alcopops, cigarettes or Club 18-30 holidays on Tiny Pop TV then I would be equally unhappy.

    I am fully aware that there are many adults who naively sign up to these ridiculous loans who never saw adverts such as these when they were young, does that make it okay?
    "We act as though comfort and luxury are the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about” – Albert Einstein
  • Clive_Woody
    Clive_Woody Posts: 5,855 Forumite
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    Gaz83 wrote: »
    Won't happen. Not when older generations still have a bizarre hang-up about sharing financial information with their children. We see it all the time in schools. Pupils have no idea what the real world is like.

    We are very open with our kids about finances, although they are only 5 and 7 we talk to them about finances in language they understand. I am not just relying on schools to educate them and will continue with this education as they grow up.

    I fully support Martin's campaign for better education of kids when it comes to finances and financial products. I think parents play a key part in this but unfortunately there are many parent's who simply do not have a clue so there needs to be a Plan B.
    "We act as though comfort and luxury are the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about” – Albert Einstein
  • dealer_wins
    dealer_wins Posts: 7,334 Forumite
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    Yes we need to stop these 5 year olds rushing down to Speedy Cash and taking out loans!!
  • Clive_Woody
    Clive_Woody Posts: 5,855 Forumite
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    dealer_wins wrote: »
    Yes we need to stop these 5 year olds rushing down to Speedy Cash and taking out loans!!

    We now keep them in cages which seems to have resolved the problem entirely.
    "We act as though comfort and luxury are the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about” – Albert Einstein
  • Monkeyballs
    Monkeyballs Posts: 1,935 Forumite
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    So...

    A Payday lender would be able to use this sort of advertising if they rented a room in their local church, community hall or working mans club in which they would have a lot more space to place their paraphernalia offering loans from their nearest branch and maybe even have a team of "advisors" on-site to discuss options?

    The problem with PDL's is that it's easier for them to make adverts which illustrate an immediate benefit from their loan because the loan is small(er) and is intended to be for a short period only.

    Someone taking a PDL is more likely to use it to have a night out (as much as they are to pay for an emergency or get them through the last week in the month) whereas you go to a bank and you borrow a larger amount for a car, or home improvement, etc - which of these scenarios would benefit from a jokey humorous advert?

    Maybe by making PDL's limited to none moving images or just text based advertising with a voice over would remove the "child appeal"?

    MB
  • BillJones
    BillJones Posts: 2,187 Forumite
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    Clive_Woody wrote: »
    You may suggest whatever you like Bill, freedom of speech is wonderful thing.

    If you think it is reasonable to show these adverts on children's television then I suggest you reconsider as it is very naive to think that these adverts will not have an affect.

    I don't have an issue with the ASA asking them to stop, but I'd hope that the effect would be a very minor one. I don't generally favour the ide of plonking children in front of the television unsupervised, though, and so would hope that parents could use one of these being shown as a jumping off point to explain prudence.
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