Wonga puppets set for the chop

The new boss of payday loan firm Wonga has confirmed the pensioner puppets – synonymous with the brand’s advertising activity since 2011 – are to be scrapped as part of an overhaul of its marketing strategy.
Former RSA chief executive Andy Haste joined as chairman today and has already released a video on the company’s website, outlining his plans to repair the brand’s image.
Haste said: “I’m very aware of the criticism of the advertising approach, and the puppets will be going, I’m going to be reviewing all our advertising and marketing to make sure we don’t leave any impression that we’re trying to influence or target the very young or the vulnerable.”
An Ofcom study published last year found children saw an average of 70 payday loan ads on TV in 2012. But the Government has already dismissed calls for an outright ban the ads running during children’s TV, in a move backed by the Advertising Associaition,
Wonga’s ad agency Albion is not facing a review of its business.
Haste added: “Our goal is to deliver the original vision for Wonga – to provide short-term lending to the right customers in a responsible and transparent way. We will become a more customer focused, and inevitably in the near term, a smaller and less profitable business.
“However, we are determined to make the necessary changes and serve our customers in the right way, to repair our reputation and become a business with a long-term future and an accepted place in the financial services industry.”

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