ASA slams Klarna Bank over claims deferred payments lift mood during lockdown
Advertisers have to be careful about claims that concern Covid-19 lockdown, as demonstrated by today’s ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Authority Ltd (ASA).
The body has upheld a complaint against a series of Instagram posts about Klarna Bank’s deferred payment service. The complaint, filed by Stella Creasy MP, focused on claims in these Instagram posts about effects that the use of Klarna Bank’s services is set to have on one’s mood during the Covid-19 lockdown.
One of these Instagram posts, seen on influencer @bradders_21’s Instagram page on 28 May 2020, featured a photo of Bradley Harper standing smiling, and dressed in an outfit. The caption stated “AD | @klarna.uk helping me get ready for the day ahead in lockdown and lifting my mood!… using products from @allbeautyhq…”
Stella Creasy MP challenged whether the ads were irresponsible for encouraging the use of Klarna’s deferred payment service to help people lift their low mood during the Covid-19 lockdown. The ASA challenged whether the ads were irresponsible for the same reason.
The Authority upheld the complaint. The ASA says it understood that Klarna’s deferred payment service was a form of credit which allowed for payments of purchases to be made within 30 days, or via monthly instalments over the course of three months, without interest or fees. The four ads appeared in April and May 2020 in the context of the national restrictions due to Covid-19, and all made references to purchasing beauty or clothing items to help with “lifting” or “boosting” one’s mood during the pandemic and lockdown, in association with Klarna.
The body acknowledged that purchasing non-essential items was likely to be a source of comfort for some people during the national lockdown. However, each ad promoted the use of Klarna’s deferred payment services, and the ASA considered that the respective influencers had linked buying beauty or clothing products through this service with enhancing their mood during an uncertain and challenging period, when many people were experiencing difficult circumstances and isolation during the lockdown, including financial concerns and mental health problems.
In particular, the body considered one of the statements in these Instagram posts, namely that “keeping up a skincare routine has really helped me lift my mood most days. @klarna.uk has a huge beauty offering, where you can pay in three across a variety of skincare brands”, as an encouragement to use of Klarna’s deferred payment service to “splurge” on the product, and also explicitly linked this with helping to lift one’s mood at the time.
ASA concluded that in the context of the challenging circumstances caused by the lockdown at the time, including impacts on people’s financial and mental health, the ads irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to improve people’s mood. The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility).
The ads must not appear again in its current form, the Authority says. It told Klarna Bank AB, and influencers Bradley Harper, Claire Menary, Aisha Master and Yasmin Fatollahy, that their future advertising must not irresponsibly encourage the use of Klarna’s deferred payment service, particularly by linking it with lifting or boosting mood.