Standard, FNB sent back to ad drawing board

The two banks now have to go back to the drawing board and develop marketing campaigns that do not make unsubstantiated promises.

Incidents of banks taking each other to the ASA are not new and show the effect of the rough-and-tumble marketing tactics they are using to grow and protect market share as they battle to grow income.

The ASA upheld one of FNB's complaints against Standard, which claimed all banks were increasing fees yet it planned to help its customers cut theirs by as much as 50%. The ASA said the claim could not be substantiated and breached ASA rules. "As a consequence, the claim in its current format has to be withdrawn completely."

Misleading advertisements

It dismissed FNB's claim that Standard had misled the public by claiming it offered free internet, telephone and cellphone banking because a customer's statement detailing such charges dated from before Standard's move to waive the fees.

The ASA upheld Standard's complaint that a headline in an FNB advertisement, implying it was the only bank leading in saving customers money, was misleading and could not be substantiated, and ordered the headline be withdrawn.

Standard was also not happy with an FNB advertisement that implied it was the "only" bank offering online share-investing products, as well as a facility to purchase airtime, SMS and internet bundles.

"These claims have been held to be ambiguous and, by virtue of that, they are misleading," the ASA said.

The headline "Be with FNB, the bank that leads in selfservice" was misleading as it was "based on misleading claims".

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge