A series of Nationwide adverts featuring Dominic West have been banned by The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleading consumers about high street bank closures.
Originally appearing in October and November 2023, the ads – which wrongly imply that the building society has not closed some of its branches – have been pulled from TV in their current form.
The advertising watchdog received a total of 281 complaints (including from rival bank Santander) about the campaign, which focused on the increase in high street bank branch closures.
West starred in the TV spot as an arrogant, hard-nosed bank boss, who responded to a suggestion about keeping banks open by saying: “We’re not Nationwide – we’re not anything like them”.
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Accompanying radio and press ads made a similar point, all closing with the phrase “Unlike the big banks, we’re not closing our branches”.
The ASA ruled that consumers would interpret the adverts in the context of high street bank closures, adding that although Nationwide had closed fewer banks than others over a ten-year period, it had still shuttered 20% of its estate.
The adverts came as part of a rebrand from the high street bank, which ran across AV, print, OOH, digital and radio and centred on the banks commitment to keeping branches open, accompanied by a freshly designed logo.
A more recent television ad from Nationwide also featured West – accompanied by Sunil Patel – addressing complaints, with West saying “This person can’t even spell banker” and Patel replying “It’s not wanker”…
