Cardiff-based master broker Y3S used a sexually provocative image of a woman with the caption “5817 users and counting…You’re never going to be the first, but do you really care?” followed by the name of the sourcing tool.
The Advertising Standards Agency confirmed the image used by Y3S was currently the basis of a formal investigation after a car dealership used the same picture which attracted complaints.
Matt Cottle, commercial director for Y3S, posted the advert on his Linked In page with the statement: “I’m going to have to sack the marketing department after this one.”
Beneath the post were several comments about the raunchy and shocking nature of the image and several comments about the suggestive pose.
Whilst many comments were in support of his ‘different’ approach to marketing, one director of loans and mortgages at a brokerage said the advert would put her off using the company whether it used a man or a woman.
Mortgage Solutions asked Cottle if he was concerned the marketing image could cause offense.
Cottle said: “Absolutely not. I don’t understand why I should. If some people are going to get offended by things then don’t go on to my Linked In feed and look at it. I didn’t send it to an inbox, I didn’t send it to a magazine. It has gone on to my Twitter and Linked In feed.
A spokesman for the Advertising Standards Agency said: “The advertising codes require that all ads be prepared in a responsible way. The codes also state that no ad should contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence and particular care should be taken on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.”
Cottle said the image had been chosen because it was ‘a good one’ and the advert had been prepared in a responsible way.
“It has created a lot of awareness, a lot of clicks,” he said. “Since we put that ad out there it has created about 750 clicks off Linked In alone.
“We’ve had lots of good comments, lots of good responses off people, lots of people saying they like it, even ladies.”
Cottle said he had no concerns the advert would alienate any customers despite one of his followers stating she was put off by the image.
He added: “It actually attracts a hell of a lot more than it alienates. We’ve had some superb responses off brokers and we’ve had some superb responses from people who are using the system already. So if people are going to get offended then so be it, it’s not my problem.”
Speaking at the Financial Conduct Authority’s annual public conference last week chief executive Martin Wheatley sent out a warning to the consumer credit market. He said it needed to improve its practices and up its game over the next 12 months.
Responsibility for the regulation of the consumer credit market passed from the Office of Fair Trading to the FCA on the 1 April this year.
The Financial Conduct Authority were approached to comment on the advert but said it fell outside its authority because the advert targeted businesses and not consumers.
