The mailing, created by AB Design, was contained in a rigid brown envelope that resembled a medical records folder with bold text in red stating "X-ray film please do not bend".
The envelope contained an X-ray photo of a pinned joint with text at the top of the page that stated "Ouch! I bet that hurts...". The back of the page showed a number of coins and a bank note with the text "Ouch!...in more ways than one".
Further text gave details of Friends Provident's income protection offer and stated: "Taking time off work due to an accident or illness can be financially, as well as physically painful...Friends Provident income protection can help...And you won't have to experience the pain twice".
The Advertising Standards Authority received three complaints from people who thought that the nature of the mailing was likely to cause distress by masquerading as official medical records and that it was not clear that the envelope contained marketing material.
Friends Provident conceded that it had not fully appreciated the impact it could have on recipients who were waiting for medical results and acknowledged that the presentation of the envelope should have made clear that it contained marketing material.
Friends Provident told the ASA that it had withdrawn the mailing, had no plans to reuse it and had issued written apologies to those customers who had complained to it directly.
The ASA upheld the complaints, stating that it was concerned that the approach had caused alarm to some recipients and had misled them to believe the envelope contained official medical records belonging to them or their loved ones.
It concluded that the envelope should have stated clearly that it contained marketing material to avoid giving a misleading impression and causing distress to recipients.