ASA attacks credit leaflet

The advertising watchdog in the UK, the Advertising Standards Agency, has attacked a credit leaflet, claiming that the copy and graphics on the leaflet encourage women to get into debt. The leaflet was produced by part of the Littlewoods group, for Shop Direct Financial Services, which provides funding for Littlewoods customers.

The company claims that it has not breached any regulations with the leaflet, but officials from the ASA have criticised the leaflet for encouraging excessive spending at a time when consumer debt levels are already a major concern in the UK.

The copy in the leaflet reads:  "hot dates won’t wait ’till pay day" and also goes on to say: "By the time you can afford that sexy new outfit, Mr Right, or Mr Right Now, could be long gone." The leaflet has a picture of a woman on it, and a caption that reads: "’Not another new outfit, how can she afford it?’ If only they knew her secret."

The company states that anyone applying for credit would be credit checked to ensure that they could manage repayments on the finance, and that the leaflet is aimed at adults over the age of eighteen. However, ASA officials state that the leaflet suggests that this sort of lifestyle is only attainable through getting into debt.