Some Mud Sticks
Bestadvice had an interesting report last Friday. It told a story about Simon Burgess of British Insurance lodging a complaint with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about an advert by the loans and insurance group Black and White.
The roadside bill board type advertisement apparently said “Debts to Clear?” and simply had the company’s website address underneath.
A spokesperson at the ASA told BestAdvice.net: “We have received a complaint by Britishinsurance.com about blackandwhite’s billboard promotions. It is in relation to the statement in the advert about clearing debts. The complainant said this is a ridiculous statement to make as being able to clear the debts is not possible. The complainant also states the advert is irresponsible and brings the industry into disrepute.”
In reponse Black and White have said they do not feel their advertisement breaks any rules and have accused British Insurance of making the complaint as a publicity stunt. Now, whilst I do feel British Insurance do do the odd thing to attract publicity, I believe in this instance the complaint is justified. I’ve posted in the past about how some websites and company names are misleading.
However, apparently Black and White and British Insurance have clashed in the past, so maybe their is an element of ‘getting personal’ in this story.
