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A row is brewing over the design, cost and timing of an industry-funded “savvy squirrel” advertising campaign supporting chancellor Rachel Reeves’ goal of creating a “nation of investors”.
The UK Retail Investment Campaign, expected to be fronted by a “savvy” red squirrel, is set to launch in April at a cost of £20mn-£30mn over three years, according to people familiar with the matter.
Although “Isa season” has already begun, as the end of the tax year approaches, some financial services companies that agreed to fund the campaign are frustrated that TV and billboard advertising will not take place until the autumn.
“They ask for money, but there’s no strategy,” said a director at one company that has signed up. “Who are they trying to reach? Beginners or older savers with high cash Isa balances? It’s still not clear.”
“It’s a lot of money for nothing very imaginative,” they added.
In a December press release announcing the participants, the Investment Association, which is organising the campaign, said it “marks a moment of unity across the financial services sector”.
Teething problems have previously rocked the project after investment platforms AJ Bell, Interactive Investor, Trading 212, Freetrade and Octopus Money withdrew, principally on cost grounds.
The industry-funded “hearts and minds” retail investing campaign was announced as part of the chancellor’s drive to broaden participation in the stock market and is inspired by the 1986 “Tell Sid” advertising campaign, launched to coincide with the privatisation of British Gas.
Details seen by the FT of the proposed draft design for the campaign, by media agencies M+C Saatchi and the7stars, included two apparently AI-generated images of red squirrels, one in a hot tub and another lounging with a drink by a pool in a Hawaiian shirt. An investment platform taking part in the campaign confirmed that these were shown to participants in December and it was considered the preferred option.
The IA said the alleged campaign cost figure was “incorrect” and that the imagery was not the campaign creative. It declined to provide financial details.
One group that was shown the squirrel images and pulled out of the campaign said: “We decided instead of splurging money on a campaign, we’d cut our fees to give our customers back even more. That felt like the right call.”
Another added: “We were very sceptical that they’d be able to make this happen in a sensible timeframe and reasonable cost. [We are] broadly supportive of the aims, but there’s clearly a risk that a design-by-committee ad becomes a bit of a mess.”
The effort to encourage people sitting on excess savings, estimated at more than £600bn, to put more into investments has been backed by 18 large financial institutions, ranging from Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest to the London Stock Exchange, Fidelity International and Vanguard.
In December, Reeves said of the campaign: “Britain is a world-leading financial centre and the FTSE has grown to near record highs this year, but we want more people to benefit from this success. By getting Britain investing again, we can put more money in people’s pockets and drive economic growth.”
It was previously reported by Politico that the campaign could cost as much as £120mn over three years in one scenario presented by advertising agency WPP. However, a cheaper option costing around £7mn-£10mn a year for three years from M+C Saatchi and the7stars was selected in October.
The use of a squirrel — a common icon in British marketing campaigns — may invite unfortunate comparisons with the ill-fated 2006 Abbey National building society Isa campaign, which initially featured a grey squirrel before being switched to red under the weight of activist pressure.
JPMorgan Personal Investing — then known as Nutmeg — a backer of the campaign, stopped using a red squirrel in its advertising in 2021 stating it wanted to use images that focused “on human stories” and that its clients had “grown up”.
Food brand Pip & Nut is currently using a squirrel for its advertising, including on the London Underground.
The IA said: “We are on track to meet our promised April launch for campaign. This is an important moment to help more people invest to improve their lives in retirement and we hope other firms will support this endeavour.”
M+C Saatchi and the Treasury directed requests for comment to the IA.