The ad has been deemed to be ‘potentially misleading’
Retailer John Lewis has had to pull its latest home insurance advert after the financial watchdog found it could be confusing to customers.
The ‘Let Life Happen’ commercial, which was first aired on October 11, sees a boy in a dress, make-up, jewellery and heels, dancing to the Stevie Nicks classic ‘Edge of Seventeen.’
In the advert he dances around his home smearing paint on the walls, kicking shoes as lamps and making a general mess.
But on Wednesday (October 27), John Lewis tweeted that it had withdrawn the ad after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considered it to be potentially misleading, explaining that it could confuse customers about the insurance being offered.
In a statement, the retailer said: “You may have seen our ‘Let Life Happen’ advert for our new home contents insurance offering, which ran between 11 and 27 October 2021.
“This advert has been withdrawn because the Financial Conduct Authority considers the content to be potentially misleading and could cause customers to be confused about John Lewis’s new home contents insurance offering.
“This was absolutely never our intention.”
The statement goes on to clarify that “accidental damage cover is available as an add-on to John Lewis’s new home contents insurance product and only covers accidental (not deliberate) damage.”
Please see a statement on our latest Home Insurance campaign below: pic.twitter.com/n07OClgqGn
— John Lewis & Partners (@JohnLewisRetail) October 27, 2021
The store will be contacting every customer who purchased the new home contents insurance cover from October 11 to October 31 to “confirm they understood these points and are happy with their purchase.”
An FCA spokesman said: “Financial services firms’ marketing must be clear, fair and not misleading.”
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