The TV ad by Space City Productions featured singer Kerry Katona, who has previously filed for bankruptcy. In the ad she said: "We’ve all had money troubles at some point, I know I have. You could see your bank and fill in loads of forms, but is there an easier way to get a loan?"
The creative was slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority for being irresponsible and implying people facing bankruptcy could be better off using Cash Lady rather than going to their bank.
Cash Lady claimed the ad would not encourage people in Katona's financial situation or similar to borrow money.
Meanwhile, Clearcast defended clearing the ad before it was aired. It said the ad did not go into any details about Katona’s financial difficulties and made "no judgement on what sort of people should or should not take out such loans".
The ASA overruled these claims and decided the product in the ad would have been made more attractive to viewers with restricted credit by enabling them to identify with Katona.
Cash Lady, offers loans of up to £300. It was also censured for failing to make the annual percentage rate of 2670% more prominent in the ad.
The ASA has banned the ad and warned Cash Lady to take greater care with presenting information regarding its loans.
Cash Lady’s ad ban comes as the practices of payday loan firms come under increasing scrutiny as a gathers momentum.
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