ASA rejects complaint Rabobank ad features 'gratuitous use of sex appeal'

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rejected a complaint suggesting Rabobank’s use of a “photogenic” female actor in a TV advertisement for term deposit rates was a “gratuitous” use of sex appeal to try and sell an unrelated product.

The complainants, K Mathers and L Kay argued the ad, featured above which first screened in March 2007 and features a woman getting up from bed and getting dressed, implies that she had just had sex. After dressing she writes on a piece of paper and says “my number’s changed.” The number she writes, 8%,is a term deposit rate.

Mathers and Kay argued the ad breaches a section of principle 5 of the Code for People in Advertising which states that people shouldn’t be portrayed in a manner that uses sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated product.

“There is no relationship whatsoever between bank interest rates and sex,” Mathers wrote.

“In my opinion this is very clearly a gratuitous use of sex appeal to try and sell an unrelated product.”

Advertising Standards Complaints Board chairwoman Jenny Robson noted basic principle 2 of the Code for Financial Advertising was also relevant to the complaint. It sets out that financial advertisements should observe a high standard of social responsibility, especially given consumers often rely on such services for their financial security.

In its response Rabobank, which has used the slogan “your significant other bank,” noted the ad was for its RaboPlus unit which provides online financial services but doesn’t offer everyday transactional banking. It had, therefore, likened itself “light-heartedly and not explicitly” to an illicit lover.

“The bank’s view is that this ‘on the side’ aspect of RaboPlus legitimizes the use of some sexual appeal in the advertising of RaboPlus products.”

Rabobank further argued that to the extent the ad uses sexual appeal, it does not do it in a way that could reasonably be regarded as exploitative or degrading to any individual or group of people.

“The actor is tastefully depicted and there is nothing sleazy or otherwise untoward about the actor or her surroundings,” Rabobank added.

Furthermore, the bank argued, RaboPlus’ on-call deposit is not unrelated to the actor’s sexual appeal as RaboPlus’ online deposits are considered an attractive financial product.

“The bank’s view is that its engagement of a photogenic actor for this advertisement does not place it in contravention of the Advertising Codes of Practice.”

There was no implication or reasonable way in which the ad, made by agency Ogilvy, could be interpreted to imply that the actor has just had sex.

The majority of the Advertising Standards Complaints Board agreed with Rabobank that the ad didn’t cross the line and therefore didn’t breach the Code for People in Advertising.

"There was nothing that could be identified as exploitative or degrading," the majority of the board said.

However, a minority board view was that there was no obvious correlation between the depiction and the product and that Rabobank had used “imagery with sexual overtones” simply to draw attention to its product.

But, based on the majority view, the Complaints Board rejected the complaint. 

The board consists of five public representatives with no connection to media or advertising groups. One is the chairperson who holds the right to exercise a casting vote. There are also four members nominated by the Advertising Standards Authority, a representative of the media, advertising agencies, and advertisers. Their details can be found on the Advertising Standards Authority's website.