'Disgusting' Shipman ad kills off new biz at DeadHappy

Financial services firm DeadHappy is counting the cost of last year’s controversial ad campaign featuring serial killer Harold Shipman – which was branded “disgusting” by one MP – after being forced to shut its doors to new customers following a mass exodus of insurance partners.

The activity, which ran on social media, featured a picture of Shipman alongside the tagline “because you never know who your doctor might be”.

Following a major backlash, including from relatives of Shipman’s victims and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds branding the ad “disgusting”, DeadHappy scrapped the activity.

At the time, the firm’s founder Andy Knott said: “We are called DeadHappy and our strapline is ‘Life insurance to die for’ so we are aware of the provocative and to some the very shocking nature of our brand.

“But being provocative is different to being offensive and it is of course never our intention to offend or upset people. It is our intention to make people stop and think. If however you have been personally distressed by this advert we do sincerely apologise.”

Even so, both the Advertising Standards Authority and Financial Conduct Authority censor the company, with the latter ruling that the company “must cease to communicate any further financial promotions that have not received prior approval”.

This meant future ads had to be cleared by Shepherds Friendly, which provides insurance for DeadHappy.

But long-term, it seems the ad has affected DeadHappy’s entire business, with the intermediary now confirming that it is not taking any new life insurance customers.

In a statement on its website, the company said: “Our insurance partners have told us we can’t accept new life insurance customers at the moment. We wish it was different, we believe it should be different, but unfortunately not everyone agrees. To all our existing customers please don’t worry, your policies are protected.”

However, the company did have “previous”. In 2019, the ASA banned an ad that showed a man leaning his head against a wall alongside the strapline “life insurance to die for”. The watchdog ruled that the activity trivialised suicide and depression.