Friends Provident withdraws scary income protection mailshot

by Gill Montia

Story link: Friends Provident withdraws scary income protection mailshot

Friends Provident has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for sending out a mailshot that could be mistaken for medical test results.

The marketing material was sent to 10,000 people in a brown envelope that looked as if it contained test results or hospital medical records.

The envelope was marked “X-Ray film, please do not bend” and contained an X-ray photo of a pinned joint, together with details of Friends’ income protection insurance.

The ASA concluded that the mailshot was likely to cause distress by “masquerading as official medical records”.

Adding: “We concluded that the envelope should have stated clearly that it contained marketing material to avoid giving a misleading impression of its contents and causing distress to recipients.”

Friends Provident has apologised, saying that the material was used in a pilot campaign and the company had not fully appreciated the impact it would have on people awaiting medical results.