Nationwide is set to launch the second of its new ad campaign fronted by Dominic West tonight, in a move which will inflame a row with other lenders.
The Advertising Standards Authority has already received a complaint about the first ad, which portrayed an anonymous ‘A.N.Y Bank’ boss played by Dominic West as being more interested in his expenses receipt than bank branch closures.
The second, incendiary ad will be shown tonight, in which The Wire actor West says it’s “shareholders” rather than customer services on his mind, and says he won’t help customers find better savings rates.
City A.M. has seen the ad – and you can see it below.
Of the first advert, a spokesperson for the Advertising Standard Authority said: “We’ve received a complaint about a Nationwide ad. The complainant argues that the ad is misleading around other banks closing branches, and discredits and denigrates its competitors.”
The watchdog has not yet decided whether to launch a formal investigation about the first ad.
Banks across the UK have increasingly been closing branches, which are costly to run, in recent years as part of a transition to digital services. British lenders closed 645 branches last year, according to Which?.
Nationwide has touted a pledge to keep all of its current branches open until at least 2026, barring circumstances “outside of our control”.
A Nationwide spokesperson said: “We are aware of the complaint made to the ASA and await the outcome. Unlike the big banks, Nationwide has not pursued a significant branch closure programme.
“We now have more branches than any other brand and will soon be the last one standing in almost 100 communities. Our Branch Promise means that everywhere we have a branch, we’ll still be there until at least 2026.”